


Brave New World

by ComanderSprings, TacticianXenia



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Bullying, Epic Friendship, Eventual Romance, Family, Fear, Forgiveness, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Growing Up, Humor, Misunderstandings, Multi, Pokemon Training, Self-Discovery, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2018-11-02 08:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 39,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10941033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComanderSprings/pseuds/ComanderSprings, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TacticianXenia/pseuds/TacticianXenia
Summary: When Juliette Ronson, a teen born in Kalos, moves to Alola she believes that her chances of living exciting adventures are over. The thing is that she is very far from the truth! Thanks to her grandma, Juliette discovers that she can still chase her dream of encountering the legendary pokémon she admired ever since she was a little girl. Will she take the chance or will she pass it up?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The pokémon names that appear in the Characters section represent pokémon that will appear later on (in the case of the legendaries and UBs) or the final form of Juliette's pokémon

Every time night fell over Anistar City it was a magic moment, especially for a certain person. A little girl awaited anxiously nighttime because she knew that then, either her father or her grandmother would tell her stories that made her dream of adventures she wished she was involved in, things that she hoped to get to experience some day. Those stories made her believe that everything was possible and helped her escape from reality because, at her young age, that little girl was holding out for a hero.

“Dad, tell me again that story from last night!” The little girl was already tucked in her bed, her eyes sparkling like the city’s sundial did at midday.

“Of course! It’s one of my favorites too.” Her father smiled upon seeing his daughter’s enthusiasm. Sadly, seeing her like that was relatively rare. “But remember Juliette, grandma tells it better than I do!” The man laughed.

“I don't mind, I know you can tell it well too!” The little girl encouraged him, eager to hear that fable again.

“Alright then! Let’s begin.” Juliette’s father cleared his throat. “Many years ago, when the Kalos region was still at its dawn, the first humans appeared. At first, they took care of the land like they should, treating it with great respect. The three deities that reigned in the region…” The man paused so his daughter named the pokémon, whose names she knew by heart.

“Xerneas, Yveltal _and_ Zygarde!”

“Well done!” Her father congratulated before continuing with the story. “Yes, those three pokémon looked over the humans and pokémon living in the young region. While Xerneas gave life to all the inhabitants of Kalos, Yveltal took it away whenever the time came and Zygarde made sure that balance existed between the two pokémon and their duties. He also looked over the environment of the region, punishing those who harmed it in any way.”

“What did he do?” Juliette asked excitedly, she wanted to know every detail, it always was like that whenever she heard one of those stories. Even if she already heard them before.

“Well, he exiled them to the southern part of the region, at that time it was a very arid and harsh place. Many of those who had the ill luck of falling into that place ended up regretting their bad actions.” The man paused before continuing, marking a change of subject in the tale. “Alright, what came next? Oh, I got it! After many people harmed the ecosystem, the pokémon decided that it was time to do something about it. So, after informing Xerneas and Yveltal, Zygarde split himself into no more and no less than one hundred cells!”

“But what about the cores?” The little girl remembered her grandma mentioning them last night, while her dad seemingly forgot about them. Sometimes he could be a bit absent minded.

“Oh, the cores! See? I told you grandma tells it better than I do.” He smiled shaking his head. “Aside from the cells, there were also five cores. Those could see through the cells scattered across the region if everything was going well. Whenever someone did a bad thing or the balance of Kalos was in danger, one of those cores would gather enough cells to where Zygarde could appear to take the pertinent actions.”

Juliette pondered for a while after hearing that part of the story. “So, does that mean Zygarde watches over us?”

“Of course! He always does, even after all these years. His duties will never stop.” The man ruffled her daughter’s hair.

“Is it possible that he knows what I go through at school?” 

Those words sounded unsettlingly mature, at least to Juliette’s father. It was true that the things that Juliette had to put up with at school somehow made her mature fast, maybe as a way of trying to keep the kids from treating her like that. But sadly, that didn’t work. 

After snapping out of it, the dad finally responded. “Yes, it’s very possible. And I don’t know how but, I’m sure that someday and in some way, he will get to save you from all that.”

“Really?” Juliette’s eyes lit up with hope, wanting to believe that it would indeed happen some day.

“Yes, really!” Her dad smiled once more, he wanted his daughter to stay strong and overcome all those problems. He wanted to continue telling her that tale she loved but after accidentally glancing at his watch, the man found out that it was already getting late. “Oh no! It’s time to sleep, Juliette. Don’t you have an exam in school tomorrow?”

The girl’s expression changed suddenly and dramatically; her face didn’t show glee or excitement anymore, now she looked just like if somebody told her that she was about to be fed to a pride of Pyroar. After some long seconds of tense silence, Juliette finally spoke. “Yes, it’s a Geography exam.”

“Did you study for it?”

“Yes, I did.” Juliette lied on her side, yawning in the process.

Her dad smiled warmly. “Then you shouldn’t have any problem!” He got up from the bed and walked towards the door, opening it with a slow gesture. “And have sweet dreams!”

“Same to you, dad!” The kid answered with a hearty tone, she didn’t look that upset anymore.

When her dad closed the door, Juliette lied on her back again and spent several minutes staring at the ceiling as she waited for sleep to catch her. All the legends her father and grandmother told her were fascinating to her and she always pondered about them before falling asleep. Besides that, there were always other thoughts on her mind before falling asleep: would she ever get to see Zygarde, the pokémon that always saved the day on those stories? Would he ever save her day? Or was he just an imaginary creature that never existed, like the kids at her school always said? 

Maybe she would never find an answer to these questions, in the bottom she knew that it was definitely something out of her reach. But, don’t they say that everything is possible? All she had to do was wait and see, maybe one day something surprising would happen, nobody knows what fate has in store...

**Present time, 7 years later**

Juliette never imagined that she would have to do this, she was convinced that she would live in Kalos for the rest of her life… But there she was now, getting ready to take a flight to a region she knew nothing about. Alola, she believes it was called. They were going there because of a job opportunity that emerged for her mother, she got an offer to work in the Pokémon Center of Paniola Town and after thinking about it, she finally said yes. Besides, as the woman said, that would finally make Juliette get away from the bullies at high school. That was one of the advantages of being hated by everyone, she had no one to miss after leaving Kalos. Well, actually, that wasn’t the truth.

There was the pokémon she had always heard about ever since she was a little girl, the pokémon she hoped to see by herself one day. Now she was leaving the only region where that pokémon could be found, the region he watched over. In the bottom, Juliette always knew that she would never see Zygarde. Maybe her cruel classmates were right after all and the pokémon simply didn’t exist.

But her grandma had a very big surprise for her, a surprise she refused to unveil until they reached the region where their new home awaited them. Maybe it was just a little thing, like her new bedroom being bigger or something. Little did she know that her grandmother’s surprise would revolutionize her world!


	2. Never change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juliette and her family are finally on the town where they will live from now on, Paniola Town (Alola). While the teen was trying to relax, Juliette's grandmother comes to make her read an interview where she will learn some shocking news. How will she react to them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> VERY IMPORTANT: This story will be on hiatus until November, when the new Pokémon games come out. I decided it will take place in the USUM universe, it's just so convenient! More information on my dA page: comandersprings.deviantart.com

_“Out there_  
_There's a world outside of Yonkers_  
_Way out there beyond this hick town, Barnaby_  
_There's a slick town, Barnaby_  
_Out there_  
_Full of shine and full of sparkle_  
_Close your eyes and see it glisten, Barnaby_  
_Listen, Barnaby…"_

____

 

Even if they didn’t want to admit it, the change of scenery hit everyone like a truck. Juliette and her family changed the opulent Anistar City and its glorious sundial for the rustic Paniola Town, a place that looked straight out of a Western movie. The change of region was shocking too but in a good sense. So far, everyone in Alola seemed to be really kind and welcoming. That’s something that Juliette really liked, she thought that maybe it meant she wouldn’t have trouble with rude punks on high school.

Her parents already made sure to sign her up for a new school, one located on Heahea City. Juliette tried to convince herself that she wouldn’t have problems anymore and on top of that, her mother constantly told her that everyone in Alola is very nice and welcoming and so far, that had been the truth. From the taxi driver that picked them up at the airport to the random passerbys on the street, every single person greeted them making a rainbow shaped gesture and uttering a cheery “Alola!”. At first, they all were confused about how people used the region’s name to address them, but a quick look at one of the many touristic leaflets that the family carried with them revealed that in the region, people greet each other saying “Alola”. Now that was some interesting info to them!

Although the plane ride was more than over, there was still a lot to do, some of the family’s belongings still had to arrive from their former region and the porch of their new house was chock-full of cardboard boxes filled with diverse stuff. They all were labeled according to which room of the house the things belonged to or who the owner of said items was. The house was fully furnished for the most part but of course, the family still needed to bring quite a few things with them. Most of their clothing was stuffed in their briefcases and in Juliette’s case, the pokéballs where her pokémon rest were inside her bag. She was sure that her Frogadier Halbert and her Bulbasaur Poppy would be happy with the new region too, she told them about it a couple of weeks before leaving and they seemed happy. They even helped the family to pack up stuff!

Juliette always wanted to go on a journey of her own like most of the kids at her school did, but the constant putting down from her classmates and her grandma telling her that waiting a bit for setting on a journey wasn’t a bad thing made her postpone that moment more and more. However, she did get her first pokémon almost at the same time as everybody else. Her first pokémon was a Froakie that Juliette herself went to pick up at Sycamore’s lab a few weeks after her tenth birthday. After that, kids at her school accused her of “trying to be cool” by choosing the most popular starter, which was not true. Juliette simply chose the one she liked the most. 

More recently, around five months ago, Juliette decided that Halbert (who was already a Frogadier) might feel lonely and she decided to visit Sycamore again. This time the professor allowed her to choose between the three starters native to Kanto. Being a big fan of plants and botany, Bulbasaur caught her eye immediately. Juliette was more than happy with her choice but, of course, her classmates had to put their two cents in. This time what they had to say was that she chose the lamest of the starters and that she should have chosen Charmander because Charizard is cooler and stronger. That day, Juliette told those people that they acted like five-year-olds and for some reason, they stopped bothering her for the rest of the day.

But all that people wasn’t important anymore, she left them behind on Kalos and she certainly wouldn’t miss them one bit, just like they declared how they were more than happy that she was leaving. The idea of having to face new people in a new school wasn’t something that made Juliette too happy, but she knew it was a necessary evil if she wanted to keep up with her studies. 

Although she didn’t collect badges or anything, sometimes she trained with her pokémon. She even battled from time to time with her classmates, in fact, Halbert evolved into Frogadier during a considerably heated battle against a jock’s Garchomp. Needless to say, Juliette and her pokémon didn’t win that battle, but she was very proud about her pokémon evolving… and worried about the wound he got across his left eye, which turned into a scar that according to Juliette’s grandma makes her Frogadier look like “a seasoned warrior”.

“Juliette!” Her mother’s voice made Juliette return to reality, she accidentally started daydreaming about that important battle where her first pokémon evolved. “Can you help me take these boxes to the kitchen?”

“Of course!” The girl approached one of the cardboard boxes at a fast pace and with a gentle knee flexion, she held the box.

It was pretty heavy but Juliette didn’t say anything, she didn’t want to stand there like a statue doing nothing. In the meantime, her father and grandmother were also starting to take boxes here and there.

“Hey Rachel, don’t forget that the kitchen is almost one of the first things you see after crossing the door!” Juliette’s father exclaimed before disappearing through the house’s main door, carrying a rather big box.

“We’ll keep that in mind, Mainard!” His wife answered with a small smile as she and her daughter finally entered their new house.

The first thing they saw was an average sized living room decorated with rustic furniture, keeping up with the ambient of the town. A brown three-seat sofa sat in front of a medium-sized TV, it was big enough so everyone could watch it without having to worry about their place on the couch. Speaking of the sofa, there was a brown armchair on either side of it. Between the seats and the TV, there was a wooden coffee table that mimicked a wooden log cut in half. That gave the whole room a unique air, it was still rustic but with a modern touch. The white wall next to one of the armchairs was full of various framed pictures that no one could stop to look at yet, the whole family was too busy to worry about that.

Without getting too distracted, Juliette and her mother made their way to the kitchen. Just like Mainard said before, it was very easy to spot. The inside of the room could be seen from outside, an arch and not a door was what separated the kitchen from the rest of the house. Once she and her mother were inside, Juliette saw that the room’s size was more than acceptable compared to her former house’s kitchen.

“This is twice as big as that shoebox of a kitchen!” Juliette laughed as she put down on one of the counters the box she was carrying.

Rachel did the same, retrieving from her pocket a cutter to open her box. “Yes, maybe now we could have dinner here. I always wanted to do that!”

“Now let’s just hope that your new job here allows us to do it.” The teen said that almost without realizing, she was just thinking out loud. That earned her a sigh from her mother, who didn’t want to answer to that statement.

Both started placing various items in their respective places; an old figure of a cook with an enormous mustache was placed right next to their brand new sink, the same spot it occupied in the old house. Then, while helping each other, they organized all of the cutlery on a drawer on one of the counters, there was at least six of them and they all were made of granite and mahogany wood. They also attached the spice rack to the wall, although some time was wasted while they waited for Mainard to bring them the tools they needed.

Half an hour later, both were done in the kitchen. Rachel turned to face her daughter with a smile on her face. “You can go upstairs to check your bedroom if you want, it’s the second door on the left.”

“Great! But don’t hesitate to come and tell me if you need help.”

“Don’t worry, there are your dad and your grandma too!” Rachel grabbed the now empty cardboard boxes and exited the room.

After her mother disappeared from her sight, Juliette did the same thing and headed for the stairs. In the other house, her bedroom was also upstairs, so that was nothing new for her. The thing that surprised her was how the corridor was wider and longer than in her former house, it made her want to release her pokémon and allow them to run around the place! But she left that for later, at that moment her priority was checking her new room.

The first thing Juliette saw as she opened the door were the light green walls, that was her favorite color and she was delighted to see it on the walls of the room where she would probably spend most of her time. After silently closing the door behind her, she left her bag on top of a desk that was placed right under a window. A small carton box with some of her belongings sat there as well, her father probably put it there while she and her mother organized the kitchen. Juliette had the intention to turn to look at the rest of the room, but something she saw out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

Her window faced another window belonging to the house behind hers and it wasn’t too far away. Through that window, Juliette saw a boy who looked slightly older than her. He seemed to be practicing some sort of Alolan dance and he brandished a white staff, moving it around as he went “Yah! Hoo! Hee! Hyah!”. It was kind of odd, but at the same time Juliette couldn’t stop staring, maybe the movements of that dark skinned boy hypnotized her. But that state of mesmerization disappeared as soon as the boy on the other side looked at Juliette’s direction, realizing he was being observed. 

In an almost automatic gesture, Juliette quickly closed the curtains. “Oh. Flowery curtains.” She murmured in a feigned surprised voice observing the colorful pattern. Juliette didn’t feel like talking to a complete stranger (like always), especially while feeling so tired. Having to measure her words was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment.

After that interruption, Juliette continued examining her new bedroom. Since it was meant for a teenage girl like her, it didn’t look as rustic as what she had seen so far from the new house. The room was actually a bit bigger than her old one, but not by much. She fell instantly in love with her new bed, as soon as the girl sat down on it, she felt like she was sitting on a cloud. The light blue covers were adorned with white polka dots, the color combination really popped thanks to the color of the walls. 

Juliette was about to lie on her brand new bed when she heard a few knocks on the door and she told the person outside to come in. It was her grandma, Édith. The woman approached her granddaughter with her usual cheerful smile, hiding something behind her back. “Are you liking the new house so far?”

“Yes, it’s pretty good! This room is so cool… And this bed is just so comfy, come sit on it!” Juliette realized that she rarely felt this enthused unless certain subjects came up, maybe moving to another region was starting to cause some positive effects on her.

“If you insist! It will probably be good for a poor old woman like me.” Édith joked as she walked towards the bed, avoiding to show accidentally what she hid. Once she sat down, she left out a relieved sigh. “I didn’t realize how tired I was until now. I think tonight we all are going to go out like a light… Anyway, I wanted to show you a little something that I thought you would like.” The woman stared at Juliette with an amused expression as she gave her the thing she had been hiding, it was a magazine called “Alola Times” she picked up on the plane and “forgot” to return to its place for reasons.

“Oh no, that’s your plotting face!” Juliette laughed. “I wonder what’s inside that head of yours.”

“Open the magazine and you’ll see!” Édith rubbed her hands comically, eager to see her granddaughter’s reaction to what she would find inside the booklet.

She opened it to a specific page, the upper corner of one of the pages was folded so finding that specific page was easier. There was an interview that occupied two pages, the interviewees were Sina and Dexio, assistants of Kalos’s Professor Sycamore. Juliette remembered seeing them the day she picked up Halbert, they had changed so much! But that wasn’t what concerned her, Édith insisted her granddaughter to read a certain part of the interview that she had marked with a small arrow. It read as follows:

**AT: One of the reasons that brought you and your partner to the region is very special, right?**  
_S: Yes! The main reason we are here is because Professor Sycamore wanted us to investigate something very important on the island… And to relax a bit, of course! (laughs)_

**AT: Could you share with our readers what that investigation is about?**  
_D: It’s a bit of a complex subject, but we can try to summarize it. Sina?_  
_S: Have you ever heard of a pokémon called Zygarde?_

Juliette checked twice to see if she read that right. Zygarde? Were they really talking about that pokémon? How did he tie to them being in Alola?

**AT: Isn’t it a legendary pokémon from the Kalos region?**  
_S: Bingo! During quite some time, the professor suspected that more than one specimen existed._  
_D: Yes, the legends always mentioned how Zygarde had some sort of hidden potential, but there are no records of such thing on the region’s recent story. So after a long investigation, we found evidence that there are several beings related to Zygarde that inhabit the Alola region. This, of course, must mean that this pokémon exists here too._

**AT: Beings?**  
_S: We call them cells and cores to be more exact, we believe that by gathering a certain number of these creatures something unheard of could happen. That’s why we are here, to investigate to which degree that’s true._  
_D: Although some he-_

And suddenly, Édith yanked the magazine from Juliette’s hands. “Grandma, I wanted to finish reading it!”

“Trust me, you have already read enough by now.” Strangely, the grin on her face was even bigger than before. That usually means Édith is onto something big. “When the time comes, you’ll know what I mean.”

“And when will that be?”

“Who knows? That could happen at any time, just wait and see!” Édith winked as she got up from the bed. Then she walked towards the door, but not without playing first a little prank she had played on Juliette for years. It consisted on her pretending to leave the room only to open the door again, this could go on for almost a minute.

When her granny left, Juliette finally got to lie on her new and extremely comfortable bed. She would definitely sleep like a baby that night! Well, that if the things she read on that magazine allowed her to. Suddenly, it turned out that the dream was still alive. A few lines on a paper sheet to announce that some things will never change and that, after all, impossible is nothing. But she didn’t want to get too excited, that pokémon was still something out of her reach. Now Juliette had to wait for her grandma to tell her about the things she apparently didn’t want her to know yet… And she hoped that it would be soon.


	3. Doom or destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the middle of setting into her new home in Paniola Ranch, Juliette spends a day to relax. Édith, her grandmother, hatches an idea to visit a landmark in the small town early in the morning. Juliette has still yet to come out of her shell and is iffy to approach the Alolans, but she embarks on the trip around town nonetheless. Little does she know, the destination she goes to not only harbors a familiar face, but it will also introduce her to a new individual that will become a major part of her life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fait accompli = Something that has already been done or decided and can't be changed  
> Luana belongs to TacticianXenia. You can learn more about her here http://fav.me/datq7q4

The sound of the alarm going off woke up Juliette. The first rays of sun illuminated her brand new bedroom; the one where she had slept in for the past two days. In a matter of minutes, an orangish hue caused by the sunlight took over the room. It was just seven a.m., but the King Star was already out and prompting the people in town to wake up. That’s one of the many things that surprised Juliette and her family during their first two days in Alola; unlike in Anistar City, the inhabitants of Paniola Town woke up very, very early. The previous day Mainard got startled by a man screaming outside early in the morning. It turned out he was just a farmer guiding a herd of Mareep.

With a quick movement, Juliette turned off the alarm and left her bed. As much as she loved being in bed, she had no trouble waking up so early. She was used to it after all. Going to school always required her to wake up around 7:30 a.m. At least in Kalos, because she still didn’t know how school would work in Alola. She was free from the suffering of going to school until next week, mostly because they were all still busy with the move. Some boxes were still closed and things still needed to be organized. As far as she was concerned, Juliette was pretty much done.

Getting dressed didn’t take her too long. Juliette never was the kind of girl who worried too much about fashion and how she dressed. The only two items of clothing she cared about were the Zygarde themed cap and shoes her father gifted her on her 13th birthday. She wore them every day, rain or shine. Besides that, Juliette put on a simple white shirt with ruffles on the neckline and a pair of jean shorts. After fixing her bedhead, she was ready to go downstairs. Juliette knew that she wouldn’t have much to do today anyways, besides watching the television or playing with her Pokémon.

For better or for worse, Juliette was entirely wrong about that. She absentmindedly descended the stairs while thinking about how her freedom would soon be over and that she would be in the same situation as she was in Kalos. Her mind would have been occupied for a longer time by these thoughts that appeared like a summer storm if it wasn’t because a certain someone was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.

“I knew you would be up already!”

“Grandma!” The girl exclaimed with a smile. “I see you decided to get up too. Didn’t you say you would be up a bit later?”

“Yes, but I changed my mind.” Édith had one of her famous smiles on her face. “You see, we’ve been here for a couple of days already and, while I understand that a house move takes time, I think we should go see what this place has to offer!”

Juliette wasn’t sure how to take that. Her grandmother wanted to go out so early in the morning?  
“What are you hiding?” she asked jokingly.

“Nothing, I swear!” Édith averted her gaze from Juliette’s thoughtful stare.

“Does it have to do with the Sina and Dexio interview from the other day?” Juliette asked with a questionable tone.

“Sorry to disappoint you but no, it doesn’t.” The woman maintained her cheery expression.

“Well, what is it then?”

“In one of the touristic leaflets I got in the port, they talked about a place called Sunrise Café that’s right there in this town! Plus, according to the reviews on TourGuide, the food is really nice so I thought that maybe we should have breakfast there.”

“Sounds great! But…” Juliette looked around the room. “What about Mom and Dad?”

Édith made a gesture with her hand. “Oh, you already know your dad! He won’t wake up until ten or so. As for your mom, she’ll probably eat something while at work so don’t worry!”

Our protagonist never doubted her grandmother, so she thought that it would be worth a shot. The only bad thing was that they would undoubtedly come across people both in the street and in the café itself. Since they were in Paniola Town, the few times Juliette went outside people would stare at her with an inquisitive look, presumably guessing that she was an outsider. Luckily for her, the peak of her cap kept them from seeing her entire face. Sometimes she felt that she was too exaggerated trying to hide from people like that, but she couldn’t help it.

As soon as Édith got the house keys, the two of them were already on the street and under the Alolan sun. The peculiar smell of the town hit them like a Double Slap, but that was nothing they wouldn’t get used to! The whole place was very lively for 7:15 a.m.; lots of farmers and breeders were talking to each other, little kids and their Pokémon playfully ran around the place, and the sound of pushing wheelbarrows could be heard. That made Juliette get an idea. She opened her bag― which she quickly fetched from her bedroom while Édith looked for the keys― and let her two Pokémon out of their Poké Balls.

“This is Paniola Town! What do you guys think?” Juliette smiled at Halbert and Poppy.

The Frogadier and Bulbasaur left out happy little cries and jumped around. Suddenly, they were joined by a small dog Pokémon. “I believe that’s a Rockruff!” Édith said, intrigued by the unfamiliar Pokémon. She amused by the scene.

“Yes, it is!” Juliette recalled reading an article about the Pokémon on the internet. She educated herself about some of the Pokémon native to Alola shortly before the move.

After the three Pokémon played for a bit, Halbert and Poppy went back to following their Trainer and her grandmother. “The café is not too far from here. Maybe we can take a small stroll on the way there,” Édith suggested after greeting a random passerby.

“Eh, I’d prefer going there directly.” Juliette avoided looking at people; she still didn’t feel like talking to strangers.

Her grandmother laughed. “Come on Julie, don’t be like this! You can’t hide in your shell forever.”

Halbert and Poppy made a loud vocalization in agreement with the elder. Juliette had no problem admitting they were right. Deep down she thought that too. But it was easier said than done. How would she do that, especially now that she was in a brand new place where she knew no one besides her family? Well, her family and that guy who lives in front of her. She already saw him a few times from her bedroom, but she was careful so that he would not be able to spot her. It wasn’t like Juliette was spying on him, but she just didn’t want to give any explanations.

For her part, Édith had no trouble approaching people. She greeted almost everyone she saw with an energetic “Alola!”, accompanied by the famous rainbow shaped gesture. People greeted her back with the same level of enthusiasm and in some cases even more, especially in the case of young children. Foul smells aside, walking around the town proved to be very entertaining, even for Juliette. She was distracting herself taking a good look at the landscape around her, imagining what it would be like if they were in the Wild West era. However, things would most likely not be much different.

“Hey, Juliette!” Her grandmother’s voice made her snap out of her thoughts. They were standing in front of a middle aged woman. “This is my granddaughter, Juliette. We came from Kalos only a couple of days ago.”

“I see! I knew you two weren’t familiar. Welcome to Alola!” The woman addressed Juliette with her greeting. Édith looked at her granddaughter as if she was anxiously waiting for her to say hello back. A tumbleweed rolled by right beside Juliette like an unexpected guest.

“...Alola!” The girl finally managed to respond, rainbow gesture included. Édith smiled proudly as the other woman returned the gesture.

After they parted, Édith placed a hand on her granddaughter’s shoulder. “See? It’s not that hard! Soon you’ll begin to realize that people in Alola are very different compared to the ones in Kalos. Almost everybody agrees that Alolans are really warm and welcoming.”

“I guess _almost everybody_ can’t be wrong then!” After realizing that what she said sounded like something straight out of a commercial, Juliette left out a hearty laugh. 

The little group walked around the town for a bit more until they finally came across their destination, Sunrise Café. Besides being a little wider, the building didn’t really stand out from the rest of constructions in the town. A wooden sign with a sunrise and the name of the café painted on it swung around obnoxiously on a pole that stood in front of the building. Édith opened the door swiftly, which made a bell that was placed right above it ring noisily. Juliette was startled by the sudden ringing sound.

_Don’t be ridiculous, Juliette. It was just a bell._

The interior of the building was unsurprisingly rustic looking. The ambience in the building was very cozy. Country music played at a low volume on a radio placed in the bar as people talked to each other, minding their own business. Nobody really seemed to notice the newcomers and that was a relief for Juliette. Besides the humans, there were quite a few Pokémon too.

“This is a Pokémon friendly café. Isn’t that great? You did well letting Halbert and Poppy out!” 

“I noticed. There were quite a few of these in Kalos too…” Juliette didn’t care to hide the nostalgia in her voice. There is a sign in the front of the café that said “Feel free to sit yourselves! We’ll be there for you momentarily!” Following the sign’s orders, Juliette and her grandmother were able to sit themselves at a table by a window. 

Édith smiled. She felt the same way as Juliette, after all. “Then we can comfortably say that there’s a bit of Kalos in Alola.”

“Yes, in more ways than one.” Juliette was yet again referring to the interview her grandmother had shown her earlier. Thinking of the interview, Juliette decided to bring up the subject. “By the way, when will you tell me more about the Zygarde thing? It’s been two days already.”

“Hehehe... You really are eager, aren’t you? Zygarde means a lot to you and I’m aware of that.” Édith smiled again. “Just to give you some relief, I’ll tell you this: You’ll learn more about it after you spend some time at the new school, _d’accord_?”

Silence is golden and an image is worth a thousand words. Juliette’s expression said everything she thought about her grandmother’s “deal.” But she didn’t insist, she was never the kind of individual who tries to contradict an older person. “ _D’accord_.”

Shortly after that exchange, the waitress appeared. She was a young, slender girl in her older teens, a little above Juliette’s age. She wore a simple white shirt with a black bow around her neck, black dress pants, and black flats. “Alola! Welcome to Sunrise Café. My name is Luana and I will be your waitress for today.”

“Alola!” The two females greeted her, as well as Juliette’s Pokémon. The aforementioned was still trying to get used to greeting people like that.

Luana smiled at them. “I don’t recognize your faces. Are you two new from around here? Tourists?” 

Juliette looked at her grandmother trying to convince her to be the one to speak, but the playful little kick the older woman gave Juliette under the table left her know that it wouldn’t happen. “Yes…and no. We’ve only been there for a couple of days. We just moved here.”

“Oh, wow! Welcome to Paniola Town! Where did you all come from?”

Juliette briefly averted her gaze from the girl, as if to collect her thoughts. “Kalos.”

Despite Juliette’s unintentional dryness, Luana kept her cheerful tone. “Really? I was born there!”

“Really?” That suddenly piqued Juliette’s interest. “We are from Anistar City. You?”

“I was from and born in Lumiose City!” The waitress’s bright smile was contagious. “I have seen Anistar City a couple of times. I loved the sundial!”

“Yes, that was my favorite place too. That and Terminus Cave, it wasn’t too far from there.”

Luana nodded slightly, her smile unmoving. Then she shifted her attention to Halbert and Poppy. “I’m guessing you got your Pokémon back in Kalos, right?” she said as she pointed a black pen at them.

“Yes. The Frogadier is named Halbert and Poppy is the Bulbasaur.” She didn’t know why, but Juliette suddenly felt a little at ease by talking with the young girl she had just met.

“I see. They’re adorable!” As Luana stared at Halbert closely, she frowned. “How did Halbert get that scar on his face?” Juliette frowned.

“It’s from the battle where he evolved. A classmate’s Garchomp did it to him.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. But he still looks like a strong boy!” Luana patted Halbert’s head, a gesture he seemed to enjoy. “You know, my grandfather has a Greninja. Isn’t it a big coincidence?”

“It is, indeed.” Juliette said with a tiny smile.

Suddenly, the waitress facepalmed. “Whew, we were talking so much that I totally blanked out! I almost forgot you were there to eat!” Luana laughed. “What would you like to drink?”

Édith took the floor this time. “Just a glass of water for me, thanks.”

“And a soda for me, if that’s possible.”

“Sure thing!” Luana started writing down the orders. “And the Pokémon?”

“Is there something special you’d recommend?” Édith asked excitedly.

“Actually, yes! We have Moo Moo Milk straight from the town’s ranch and let me tell you, _everyone_ seems to like it!”

Édith turned to look at her granddaughter. “They are your Pokémon, what do you say?”

“Sounds good! Moo Moo Milk for them, then.” The teen nodded approvingly.

“Alright! I’ll be back with everyone’s drinks in a bit.” Luana smiled again before walking towards the bar.

A light silence fell. Édith looked at her granddaughter with a big smile, her eyes were sparkling. “See? It’s not that hard!”

“ _Wow,_ you’re acting like it’s such a big deal!” Juliette joked.

The older woman covered her mouth with one hand and giggled. “Well, it is! I hope to see you approach more people from now on.”

“Technically I didn’t approach her, she approached us. It’s her job!”

“Come on, you already know what I mean!”

Before they had time to continue the subject, Luana came back with their orders. Halbert and Poppy started gulping down the Moo Moo Milk right away while the humans talked about what they wanted to eat. The waitress recommended them a mango pie, which was her favorite of the menu according to her own words. After Juliette and her grandmother settled for the aforementioned pie, as well as order another mango pie for Juliette’s Pokémon, the waitress left with the promise of coming back in a little bit.

Someone turned up the volume of the country music playing on the radio. Now it was loud enough to where a normal conversation would be slightly difficult. Two older men dressed as cowboys danced together in front of the bar, and people clapped along with the music and their dance. Most of the people’s conversations could not be overheard now. Édith and Juliette didn’t really pay attention to them; they were too focused on their own little trivial conversations as well as sipping their own drinks, and discreetly observing the other Pokémon in the café. While many Pokémon preferred to stay close to their Trainers, like Halbert and Poppy, others freely ran around the establishment and nobody seemed to mind. A few Rockruff ran around the café. A closeby Alolan Meowth, who was observing the Rockruff, hissed when the dog Pokémon got too close to it. This reminded Juliette of how in Kalos, while Pokémon friendly cafés were a thing, there were some places where the presence of the creatures was frowned upon. High-class restaurants were the major offenders. After around ten minutes, Luana was back with everybody’s share mango pie. 

“Sorry about the music! This tends to happen a lot, but the people around here enjoy these kind of things,” Luana hollered, yet maintaining her cheery demeanor. She had to raise her voice very high to be overheard. “I hope you enjoy the pie. When you’re finished, come see me by the bar. You can pay upfront and be on your way!”

“How kind of you!” Édith exclaimed. “An old woman like me has no time to waste… Just kidding!”

Luana giggled at Édith’s humorous remark, while her granddaughter gave her a bewildered look. When the waitress left, they started eating.

“This is really good!” Juliette marveled after taking a bite.

“Isn’t it? No wonder she recommended it.” Édith took another bite of the pie. “We should definitely come here often.” She glanced at Halbert and Poppy, who were marveling at their slices of pie and scarfing it down as if they haven’t eaten in ages.

“I… I agree,” Juliette agreed with her grandmother. If it was for the food, Juliette didn’t mind the idea of coming to Sunrise Café often and as far as she saw, the service seemed to be really nice. Besides, her Pokémon were showing their approval of the place and if her Pokémon liked it, then she would do her best to bring them here as often as possible.

As she ate her succulent breakfast, Édith was discreetly observing Juliette’s attitude. The girl looked pretty content for an introvert in a place full of strangers, but perhaps it was because she was too focused on her food to think about that. But for better or for worse, the girl’s peace was about to be interrupted. Her grandmother noticed out of the corner of her eye a boy that sat a few tables away from them. He appeared to be around the same age or slightly older than Juliette. The elder already knew what she would be doing next. It was _fait accompli._

“Hey, see that boy sitting over there?” Édith pointed in the boy’s direction. “Isn’t he cute?”

Juliette stalled for a few seconds before looking at the young man her grandmother was referring to. When she glimpsed at the boy, she almost choked on the bite of pie she just ate.

It was him. The guy she had been seeing from her window. Getting to see him in the flesh at last— and not behind the glass— felt weird to say the least. After discreetly gazing at him for a couple of seconds, Juliette turned to address her grandmother. “Well… I guess. What’s your point?”

Édith laughed noisily at her granddaughter’s comments, which made Juliette sink down on the table in embarrassment. Her face started to flush. _Does she want to be heard by everyone or what?_

“Why don’t you go and say hello? It won’t hurt, you know.”

The girl sighed and took a quick look at her Pokémon, who were still devouring their respective slices of pie. All she could think of was that her grandmother was yet again pushing her to approach someone she didn’t know. She knew her grandmother did it with the best of intentions in mind, but it still made her feel a bit uncomfortable. On top of that, Juliette felt intimidated by the idea of walking towards the boy and introducing herself, even if that was all she had to do. She had always relied on someone else to do it for her in the past, but this time that wouldn’t happen.

Or maybe it would.

Before she could react, Juliette saw her grandmother get up from her chair and walk towards the guy. For a split second, she contemplated the option of hiding under the table, which would have been a comical yet vacuous move. She resigned to wait and see what her grandmother had in mind as she partially covered her face with one hand.

“Hey!” Édith approached the boy with the familiar Alolan gesture. The boy sitting at the table returned the gesture.

“Alola!” he answered with a friendly tone. Hearing the boy’s warm voice increased Juliette’s need to hide under the table, but she resisted.

“I just moved here a few days ago with my family!” Édith was not wasting her time. “Today I decided to check out the town and I brought my granddaughter with me.” She turned around to look at Juliette with a smile. A smile that didn’t go away, even when she saw the girl practically hiding her whole face behind her hands.

Even if she didn’t want to, Juliette knew that she had no choice but to approach the boy and her grandmother. _”You are a making a mountain out of a Drilbur hill, you stupid girl!”_ She scolded herself as she finally mustered enough courage to leave the chair. Although it was very hard for her to do so. She did her best to hold her head high while she walked towards them. 

Once she was right next to Édith and in front of _that guy,_ Juliette didn’t know how to proceed. Especially now that she was able to take a closer look at her neighbor. She found herself irremediably attracted to his brown eyes. He observed her, as if he was expecting her to at least say _something._ Juliette didn’t realize that she was standing there like a scared Gogoat until her grandmother gently nudged her. Like someone turning on a switch, Juliette finally became full aware of her surroundings and deigned to go back to the real world.

“Alola!” she said without hesitation, gesture and all. _See? It wasn’t that bad...was it?_

“Alola!” Her neighbor greeted back. “Your grandmother told me that you moved here recently. Where are you from?”

“We are from Kalos and, uh, we came here only a couple of days ago.” Juliette didn’t care that her grandmother had already said that in one way or another. She just didn’t know what to say or do.

“Kalos? I have a friend from there as well!” His smile made the girl want to lower her guard. What was with Alolan people and their attitudes that almost made her feel at ease?

“What a coincidence! We have been talking to someone who also comes from Kalos. Right?” Juliette’s question was directed to Édith, but she refused to say anything. Instead, she just nodded and smiled on.

“Being able to stay close to your roots in somewhat way is always nice.” Juliette was stunned. That sounded incredibly mature for a boy his age. Back in Kalos, her male classmates still laughed at scatological jokes. “By the way, the name’s Kiawe.”

“I’m Juliette… Nice to meet you.” She tried to contain her smile, but the action caused her face to twist into a strange expression. Knowing that she most likely made a weird face towards the boy, she let the smile go.

“And I’m Édith, her grandmother. But you already knew that!” Édith said with a small giggle.

The introvert within Juliette was raging. The silence that emitted between the three was too much for Juliette. “We should keep having our breakfast, right grandmother?” she spoke out loud.

The older woman emitted a small groan of exasperation. “It’s not like anyone will eat it while we are away or anything!”

However, she wasn’t completely right. Halbert and Poppy had already finished their servings were now hungrily staring at the rest of the mango pie on Juliette and Édith’s dishes, which both had a little less than half remaining.

Juliette shrugged slightly, showing her palms. “I really think we should go back before they eat it all!”

“Okay, I grant you that. I don’t want anyone to deprive me of finishing off that delicious pie!” Édith turned her attention to Kiawe. “I guess we’ll be seeing each other around. It was nice meeting you!”

“Yes, that would be nice indeed. It was a pleasure meeting you both as well.”

“Yeah...right.” The words came out of Juliette’s mouth sporadically. “Oh Halbert, don’t do that! Now we really must go. Goodbye!”

Halbert was confused since he wasn’t doing anything that could earn him a scold, besides staring at the lonely pie slices on the table. Édith was just as puzzled and she manifested it as soon as she and her flustered granddaughter sat down at their table.

“Why did you act so weird?” Édith asked with an amused laugh and in a quiet tone.

“Because I don’t know him at all?” Juliette said, looking away from her grandmother’s stare.

“Well you didn’t know the waitress either, but you seemed pretty chill to me! Tell me, is it because of how cute he looks? I swear, if I was younger...”

“ _No!_ ” Juliette was quick to interrupt her grandmother’s statement, red as a Tamato Berry while doing so. “Okay, _maybe_ it was partially because of that. But it’s also because he is our neighbor.”

“Oh, really? And how do you know that?”

“I… I have seen him from my window a few times already,” she said hesitantly.

Édith smirked. “Well, then that means you two could become friends eventually.” She relaxed her smile a bit. “You see, you know that I’m doing this for the best of you. I made you talk to so many people today because I want you to trust someone besides your family.”

Édith didn’t need to explain her reasoning. Juliette knew very well what her grandmother’s intent was and she was immensely grateful for it. She was just a bit hesitant to open up to others, is all. Deep down she also knew that if she didn’t approach anyone she would never make friends. Not reliable ones, at least. “There’s a time and place for everything.”

“Yes, but you should make an effort on your part too!” Having said this, Édith went back to eating her breakfast.

Juliette did the same after answering her grandmother with a smile and a nod, thinking about how she already made a big effort by addressing a handful of strangers. First in the streets and then in the café itself. It was true that people in Alola seemed different from Kalosian folks, but Juliette felt that it is just a charade.

The two finished the rest of their breakfast. However, this did not happen in complete silence. With Édith around, silence was an impossible feat. This was a good thing to Juliette either way, for that she cannot tolerate awkward silences.

As Luana informed them earlier, Édith and Juliette got up from their table and and approached the bar, followed by Juliette’s Pokémon in pursuit. The waitress had recently delivered an order to an old man sitting close to the bar. His Pokémon, a mellow Midday Forme Lycanroc, sat across his lap taking a nap. Luana turned on her heel and spotted the two approaching her. She greeted them as they neared. “How was the pie? Great, right?”

“Indeed! I would ask for another piece if we had more money for it!” Édith rubbed her belly as she spoke.

Despite Juliette’s antisocial demeanour, she had something to say about the meal. “I really liked it, too. My Pokémon enjoyed it as well.” The girl picked up her Bulbasaur and snuggled the Pokémon close. Luana hesitantly patted the Pokémon on the head, a gesture that Poppy enjoyed.

“Hehe, I’m glad you all had a good time there. Are you going to foot the bill already?”

“Yes! How much is it?” Édith asked as she got her wallet ready.

“Let me see…” Luana calculated the price on a small cash register. A wooden figure of a Rockruff stood on top of it. “Alright! That will be 3,350 pokédollars,” she said with a wide smile.

“Oh darn, I only have small change! This will take a little while.” The elderly woman laughed under her nose, rummaging through her purse. After nearly a minute, she managed to gather the appropriate amount.

“Thank you very much! I hope you and your Pokémon have a nice day—“

“Same to you!” Juliette and Édith answered, not letting Luana finish.

“...and I hope to see you around!” She was addressing to the both of them, but Luana stopped to look at Juliette while maintaining her smile.

 _Socialize with the same people over again and risk being weird or saying wrong in front of them? Yeah no, I don’t like that idea._ Despite the inner turmoil, Juliette managed to reply back. “Uh… Sure!”

Just when Juliette thought the social interactions were finally over, more surprises await. She spotted Kiawe out of the corner of her eye, waving goodbye to them. The boy noticed that they were leaving. Juliette shyly waved back, while her grandmother waved energetically. As the two left the café, they briefly spotted Luana approaching Kiawe with a pen and paper as well as a very wide smile across her face; asking him what would he like to order. Finally being away from all social interactions, Juliette let out a big sigh of relief.

Now that she had a good taste of how Alolan people behaved, Juliette wanted to believe that things _might_ go well at the new school. That was a thought that she could not stop thinking about. Days were going by quickly and the time to go back to school was getting closer. She dreads that day because she fears that things would and will go wrong, just like before. It didn’t matter that her family tried to reassure her; she still worried. 

_Maybe there will be some positive surprises there… I have to believe that. It’s my small glimmer of hope. My hope for change is the last thing I want to lose._


	4. To live the present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juliette intends to spend the evening before her first day of school in Alola alone in her room, but her plans change when she overhears her father talk to a group of people. After being beckoned by her father, Juliette sees herself caught up in a situation that might be just what she needs to relax and forget about her worries regarding the next day.

_”Ah, freedom. No one really appreciates it until they lose it.”_

Juliette was spending her second Sunday in Alola locked in her room. All she wanted to do was be alone; left in a never ending loop of negative thoughts. _”What if they say this or that? What if they do x or y to me?”_ That is just a small sample of the destructive hypothesis in her mind. Her first day of school in Alola was all she could think about. Even her mother, who’s normally too busy with her job, noticed Juliette’s taciturn attitude before leaving for the Pokémon Center.

Sitting on her bed with a sketchbook placed in her lap, Juliette was occupied with drawing a building that was supposedly a school, only that a sign reading “Jail” stood on the roof. She was never too good at drawing buildings, but at that moment she couldn’t care less. Poppy laid next to her, taking a curious glance at her trainer’s work every now and then. She also tapped on her leg from time to time in order to get her attention, mostly because she was worried about Juliette’s distant demeanor. The pokémon decided to do said gesture, seeing how the drawing was seemingly almost finished. Juliette put her pencil down for a moment.

“Do you want something? Are you hungry?” Poppy shook her head in response. Juliette sighed, trying to guess what her pokémon really wanted. “You want to play, don’t you? Don’t worry, I promise that as soon as I’m done with this, we will go out for a bit.”

The truth is that Juliette didn’t feel like going outside. If she was already iffy about it under normal conditions, this day she was especially hesitant. However she may be, she is willing to do anything to make her Pokémon happy. _Maybe Halbert would like to go out too._

It was no wonder that her Pokémon wanted to have some fun. The family— except for Rachel, who was at work for the most part— spent the week organizing the remaining stuff from their move. A majority of their belongings they left in Kalos have arrived already. Only a few packages have yet to come, but as of now, the family can finally say they have officially settled down in Paniola Town. Since they were all so busy and wanted to get all of it out of the way, it meant that they barely had time for anything else. However, Édith managed to sneak out a couple of times. She would go to Sunrise Café and get something to take away for herself and the rest of the family. Besides that, she always told Juliette that Luana sent her greetings.

Surprisingly enough, sometimes Juliette found herself wondering how the waitress was doing. They haven’t seen each other ever since her grandmother took her to the café. The same applied to her neighbor Kiawe. As of now they would greet each other if they happened to make eye contact from their respective bedrooms, but it never went beyond that. Juliette always avoided starting a conversation, using her chores involving the move as an excuse. But that was about to change.

As she made finishing touches to her drawing, Juliette noticed a ruckus from outside her window. There was a very animated conversation going on between several people and after paying attention for a bit, she could recognize her father’s voice. Juliette suddenly felt like putting down her sketchbook and looking out the window. After pondering about it for a little bit, she decided to check on what her father was up to. The drawing could wait; it was pretty much finished either way.

Upon opening the window, she saw her father in front of the door of the neighbor’s house, talking to who she assumed to be Kiawe’s parents. A little girl stood close to them, so Juliette assumed she was their young daughter. Another couple talked alongside them, but Juliette could barely identify who they were from where she was. They were talking about Pokémon.

“Some of your pokémon feed on mud?!” Mainard sounded both shocked and amazed.

“Yes, they do!” The woman of the house answered. “Our Mudbray feed mostly on the mud and the grass of the ranch. Thanks to that, they grow up strong and healthy.”

“I knew Pokémon in farms fed on grass and hay, but I never imagined they would eat mud too.” Still astonished, Mainard laughed under his nose.

“Mudbray’s daily routine doesn’t only include eating mud, it also loves to play in it!” The little girl exclaimed cheerfully as she jumped around.

All of sudden, Juliette realized she was carefully following the conversation. It was the first time throughout the day that her mind was occupied on something else besides her first day of school...and she liked that. She liked it until the group of people noticed her presence. She didn’t have any time to close the window.

“Hey!” Mainard smiled upon seeing his daughter. “Juliette, why don’t you come over and say hello? They’re very nice people.”

 _”And there it goes. My voluntary loneliness is over.”_ The teen told herself. She didn’t want to seem unfriendly by refusing to go outside, but she still didn’t feel like doing so. _Especially_ if it means that she’ll be facing a group of unknown people, even though her father is there. Unlike Édith, Mainard didn’t push his daughter too much when it comes to socializing with others, but he still encouraged her to do it. “Alright, I’ll be there in less than a minute!” With a sigh, Juliette closed her sketchbook and put it away. She also grabbed Halbert’s pokéball and gestured for Poppy to follow her. “You guys are in luck, we’re going outside!”

She took her time walking downstairs. Poppy and Halbert— who popped out of the pokéball on his own— were way more eager than their Trainer to go out. Coincidentally, they weren’t the only ones willing to join Juliette.

“Oh, where are you guys going?” Édith appeared next to her granddaughter out of the blue, scaring the girl.

“Dad is talking to some people outside and he told me to go say hello, so I left what I was doing.” Juliette stopped before opening the house’s door, not wanting the neighbors to overhear her and her grandmother’s conversation by any chance.

“So you had to interrupt your confinement. Got it!” After pronouncing these words, the old woman opened the door herself, which earned her a stern look from her granddaughter.

“I’m really stressed out about tomorrow, and I think that talking to people I don’t know won’t help. I’ll have plenty of time to do that tomorrow!” Juliette vented to her grandmother, then sighed harshly.

“But Juliette, it’s not the same. I’m sure the people your father is talking to are really nice!”

“Well, that’s what he said…and he never lies.” Deep down Juliette hoped that talking to these people would help her relax. Watching her father talk to them made her briefly forget about the school dilemma. _Maybe joining the conversation would have an effect on me…_

Whether she wanted to or not, however, Juliette was about to find out.

“Look, there she is! And it looks like my mother decided to come too.” Mainard tried to introduce his mother and daughter, but the former were eager to do the honors.

“Alola! My name is Édith; Mainard’s mother. This one here is my granddaughter, Juliette.” The woman winked at her granddaughter.

“Alola, nice to meet you!” One of the women spoke. “I’m Sima and this is my husband, Rango.”

“And I’m Mimo, I’m very happy to meet you all!” The little girl cheered.

“My name is Makoa, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” the male stranger said. The man was tall and average sized. He had peach skin and dark brown hair tied in a ponytail with sharp eyebrows and slight stubble. He was adorned in a green shirt, brown vest, brown shorts that reached his knees, a bolo tie, and brown sandals. The man’s dark brown eyes shone in the sunlight.

“I’m Nohea, Makoa’s wife. It’s always nice to meet new people!” The woman next to Makoa said with a kind smile across her face. She was much paler than her husband. She has dark green hair that’s braided and over her left shoulder. The woman wore a short sleeved, pale green dress with white frills, patterns, and puffed out sleeves. The dress reached her knees. She also wore brown boots and a pearl necklace.

 _”Depends on the circumstances,”_ Juliette said to herself.

Rango looked around. “Luana and my son should be here in a bit. He said that they would be done with the chores soon.”

 _”Wait, Luana knows Kiawe?”_ For some reason Juliette felt that if she said that out loud, then she would have sounded scandalized. Luckily she knew that she had no reason to feel that way.

Juliette intended to change the subject in her mind, but the furtive look Édith gave her didn’t help. “It’s amazing how hard working young people are, right?” The woman addressed Kiawe’s father.

“Absolutely! He helps us out a lot. We are so proud of him. Luana is a great help too. She is always eager to lend a hand.”

Nohea nodded contently. “Yes, my niece is really good at helping others. I’m glad my husband and I can count on her working in the café.”

“Ah!” Juliette spoke out loud. “You’re referring to the Sunrise Café, right? My Grandmother and I went there the other day!”

“Yes! Then you already know our niece.” Nohea smiled again. Her attitude was slightly reminiscent of Luana’s.

“Whose Pokémon are those?” Mimo asked after Halbert and Poppy approached her, observing the little girl with curiosity.

“They’re mine.” Juliette soon corrected herself after realizing she sounded too blunt. Being too blunt was something she didn’t like about herself. Trying to crack a smile, she went for a more cheerful tone. “I-I mean, they’re my Pokémon! Do you like them?”

“Yes! They’re so cute.” The little girl was now happily playing with the two Pokémon. 

“Mimo, don’t take Juliette’s Pokémon too far away!” Rango shouted as he watched his daughter depart with her new friends.

“Don’t you worry, Dad! We’ll be fine!” Mimo parted further away from the group alongside Halbert and Poppy to play in a small pile of hay.

Juliette wasn’t used to hearing a person outside of her inner circle utter her name with so much familiarity. It was an strange sensation for her; normally when someone outside of her family called her by her name it was a teacher. As for people her age, they normally addressed her as Ronson, or a dreaded term, “Freak.” Unfortunately these dark thoughts triggered her mindset again, proving to Juliette that she is still not mentally prepared for the following day. In attempt to rid of these thoughts, Juliette decided to focus on her surroundings instead.

At the current time, the sun was descending from the sky, progressively bathing the the town in an orangish light. This sight reminded Juliette of Anistar City and it’s famous sundial. Every day around 8 PM, when the very last rays of sun shone through the hole in the crystal, the rings of the sundial started to spin one by one. That’s not all; sometimes a small rain of sparkles fall from the sky across the whole city, with the appearance of shiny snow. Juliette would spend minutes watching them fall through her window. That was just one of the things she missed from the city she was raised in, but sunsets in Paniola Town were nice in her eyes too.

“Juliette!” Her father’s voice made her return to reality. As always, she was daydreaming at the least opportune moment.

“Look who’s here!” Édith added cheerfully.

Luana and Kiawe made their way towards the group. The newcomers made her feel strange; It was almost as if she was happy to see them. The two were finally done with their chores.

“How is everyone doing?” Luana greeted with the same cheery attitude Juliette remembered. 

“Hey!” Mimo was back again, closely followed by Halbert and Poppy. “We were waiting for you guys!”

“Well the wait is over!” she beamed excitedly. Luana noticed the two Pokémon next to the little girl. When she turned around and saw their Trainer, an even bigger smile appeared on her face. “Hey Juliette, it’s been awhile!”

 _”But it’s barely been a week…”_ Dumbfounded by the other girl’s effusivity, Juliette just smiled.

“Whenever your grandmother came to the café, she said hello for you. How have you been?” Like a Venomoth to a lantern, the charismatic Luana brought her into a conversation.

“I’ve been fine, I guess. We spent the week working on the move and trying to get everything done.” In an attempt to be less succinct, Juliette added another subject. “And tomorrow is my first day of school here, in Alola.”

“Really? That sounds cool!” Little did Luana know that her colloquist couldn’t agree less. “Which school are you going to?”

“The one in Heahea City.”

“Ah, the Akala Trainer Academy? You’re going to love it!” Luana accompanied her enthused remark with a pat on Juliette’s shoulder, a gesture that the latter thought about escaping from.

“Yeah, sure…” She mumbled under her breath. However, she felt a bit better shortly after spotting Halbert and Poppy by her side again, now that Mimo was talking to her older brother.

A part of Juliette wanted to say something to Kiawe, but the other told her to wait until he approached her. There’s this mentality ingrained in her mind that told her to avoid being the one to start conversations with people outside of the family or else she would be a bother. _”When will I allow this self-punishment to end?”_ She was the only one standing around by herself; the rest of the group were talking amongst each other. Édith was about to approach her granddaughter to speak with her until Rango raised his voice.

“I have an idea! How about we all have dinner together?”

“That’s a great idea, Rango!” Sima said. “Let’s have a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ dinner at our place. There’d be plenty of food for everyone!”

“Really? You’d invite us so willing?” Mainard was enthused by the idea of eating food straight from a farm and he didn’t want to miss the chance.

Sima nodded and smiled. “But of course!”

“Great!”

 _”Great, indeed.”_ Juliette was afraid that this improvised reunion would make her have to go to bed later than she intended.

“This will be fun, won’t it?” Once again, her grandmother was there trying her best to cheer her up.

As Édith spoke to her granddaughter, Sima invited everyone into their house. They have spent a long time standing around outside, so getting to sit down somewhere before dinner would be nice for everyone.

“I guess it will be. However, tomorrow I have a lot of things to do and I should get to bed early.” Juliette walked along with her grandmother. Halbert and Poppy followed them closely.

“No need to worry, I doubt we’d be there for many hours. On the plus side, this could help you loosen up, don’t you think?” Before her granddaughter could give her a predictable answer, Édith continued. “I know you don’t feel too comfortable around people you barely know, but your father and I are there and so are your Pokémon.”

Juliette sat down on a lone wooden chair, looking up at her grandmother. “You’re right. You’re always here to me. I just wish Mom would be here too…” Her voice carried a hint of sadness.

“Yeah, me too. She would definitely like this place, but what can we do?” Édith took a look through the window at the seemingly endless fields located behind the farm where a group of Mudsdale galloped together. She called her granddaughter so she could take a look at the impressive scene too.

“Look at them… They definitely have zero worries,” Juliette said without taking her eyes off of the herd. “Why can’t we all be like these Pokémon?”

“Because if we had nothing to worry about, life would be boring! One day you will understand.” Édith wasn’t surprised by the confused look her granddaughter gave her after her statement.

“What’s with you and making me wait to discover things lately?”

Édith laughed. “You’re still young and you have plenty of time to discover these things and many others by yourself, trust me.”

 _”She’s right.”_ Juliette told herself as she returned to the wooden chair. She was only a fifteen year old girl who has yet to discover much of the world with its lights and shadows. Although in her eyes, there was always more shadows than light. While she immersed in her own thoughts again, she saw her grandmother leave after being beckoned by her son. Juliette was all alone in the living room of a house that wasn’t hers. Sitting in the living room of her new house was still a foreign feeling to her, so being in a stranger’s house was just plain uncomfortable. However much she didn’t prefer the idea, Juliette decided to wander outside. She invited her two Pokémon to follow her as she ventured out of the neighbor’s house.

The sun had sunk even further into the sky, covering the land in a mesmerizing purple tint. _”This last sunset before classes start sure is beautiful.”_ When the thought crossed her mind, Juliette huffed in annoyance. Annoyance towards herself, because she was unable to just relax and calm down. Sometimes she felt that she was betraying her parents and her grandmother, who spent the last days reassuring her that everything would go well in the new school. Juliette would try to put on a smile every time they mentioned the topic, but at the same time she cannot stop thinking that her family was being too positive. She wanted to believe them one hundred percent, but that proved to be nearly impossible.

After observing the landscape for a little bit, Juliette wandered aimlessly around the farm, closely followed by her Pokémon. The Pokémon’s company made her feel a little at ease. Being out in the open with no other people around felt surprisingly better than staying in her room all day long. She hoped that nobody would mind her being outside, for that she isn’t bothering anyone. 

Unfortunately for Juliette, her voluntary isolation was about to be interrupted again.

“Hey!” A slightly familiar voice made her turn around.

There he was. The one she had meant to talk to. Juliette’s mind went immediately blank.

“Uuh, hello…?” Unaccustomed to talk to people without any of her family members around, the girl had a hard time trying to figure out what to say. She mentally scolded herself for being so lost for words. 

“I noticed you here all alone, so I came to see if you were okay.” Kiawe approached her so the conversation wasn’t so awkward and far apart, but it had an opposite effect on Juliette, who took a few steps back.

“Yes! Yes I am! I only wanted to get some fresh air with my Pokémon, that’s all,” she lied. _”I don’t feel good when I’m surrounded by lots people and tomorrow will most likely be a terrible day, so I want to be left alone.”_

Kiawe observed her for a couple of seconds. He could tell she was lying, but chose to not say anything about it. “I see. The air in this place is good for everyone.” Then he turned his attention to Halbert and Poppy. “You obtained your pokémon back in Kalos, right?”

“Right.” Juliette’s stark answers striked again.

“That reminds me of when I got my first Pokémon, a Cubone.” Kiawe smiled faintly at the memory. “It was a big surprise when it evolved into a Fire type. I’ve always liked them.”

 _”What on Earth is he talking about?”_ Juliette wasn’t sure if she heard him correctly. “A Fire type? I thought Cubone and Marowak were Ground types.”

“They are, but that changes in this region. Once Cubone evolves, it becomes a Fire and Ghost type.” Kiawe was a bit surprised by the puzzled look Juliette gave him. “Tell me, have you heard of regional variations?”

Now Juliette understood what he meant. For a moment she was convinced that Kiawe was messing with her. “No, I didn’t!” she stammered. “Back in Kalos it was Mega Evolution this and Mega Evolution that.”

Kiawe nodded. “I understand. Mega Evolution is interesting in its own way. Most of my friends own Pokémon capable of mega evolving. In fact, I do too.” 

“Really? Which one?” Juliette found herself getting sucked into the conversation, to her own surprise.

“A Kangaskhan I’ve had since about a year ago. A good friend gave me its required Mega Stone and the Key Stone so I can make her mega evolve. Did you know you can use the Z-Ring for that purpose too?” 

Juliette blinked in confusion. “Z-Ring? What’s that? I’ve only heard of Mega Rings.”

“Ah, forgive me, I forgot that you are not from here. Similar to how a Mega Ring enables a Trainer to trigger Mega Evolution, a Z-Ring would allow you to utilize Z-Moves with your Pokémon. Now, I don’t know how to explain how Z-Moves work, but they are very powerful and require a Trainer and their Pokémon to combine both of their wishes.”

“That sounds pretty deep,” Juliette murmured to herself. “So it’s like Mega Evolution in a way, right?”

“Yeah, more or less.” Kiawe smiled knowing that Juliette didn’t look confused anymore. Then a random thought crossed his mind. “Juliette, since it’s your first time here, how about I show you around the farm? There’s plenty of time until dinner is ready.”

Juliette pondered over the situation quickly. She would be spending more time with her neighbor than she intended. While that may not be a bad thing, but for her it would mean there’s more chances to slip up and say something foolish. “Uh… Sure, why not?”

There’s no turning back now. “Great! Follow me, I’ll show you our garden first. It’s small, but it serves its purpose.”

Hearing about a garden peaked Juliette’s interest. Now that they were walking, Juliette made sure she was close enough to Kiawe so that she could be heard. “Your family has a garden? That’s interesting, I always liked plants and flowers.”

“That’s nice. What are your favorites?”

 _”My favorite what?”_ A slightly awkward silence fell as Juliette tried to figure out what Kiawe meant. Was he asking about her favorite plants, her favorite flowers, or both? She hated not knowing what to say.

“I mean your favorite flowers. Or plants I guess, I don’t mind.” Kiawe broke the silence, much to his companion’s relief.

“Oh! Uh…” Juliette took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. “Well, I’ve always liked ferns and small palms, since they’re relatively easy to maintain. Also, my favorite flowers are orchids, without a doubt. I like roses as well, even if that sounds predictable.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, at least in my opinion.” Kiawe answered reassuringly, taking the girl by surprise.

Juliette wasn’t used to having her likes and dislikes validated by someone else out of her small circle, namely her family. Her thoughts drifted away again. Back in Kalos, she felt as if every living moment there she was walking on eggshells, because the moment she said something remotely positive about the things she liked, there was always someone willing to drag her opinions through the mud. This occurs mostly with her opinions on Pokémon she has been fascinated with ever since she was a little girl. The other kids would often tell her to stop being a loon and that Zygarde didn’t exist as well as other Legendary Pokémon.

“Here we are!” Kiawe’s voice made Juliette snap out of it and go back to reality.

 _”You’re not in Kalos anymore, Juliette. You’re in Alola.”_ More specifically, she was in the garden of her neighbor’s house, which was much bigger than what she imagined from Kiawe’s words. The numerous berry trees, all of them in different stages of growth, were by far the most outstanding plants of the garden.

“Wow, you don’t see such a well-kept garden very often!” Juliette’s eyes were all around the place, soaking in the sight of the many different plants. It made her feel like a kid in a candy shop. “Can we get closer?”

Kiawe smiled. “You can take a closer look if you wish. You seem very interested.”

The duo walked closer to the garden. Juliette could examine the plants much better. Besides the berry trees, several kinds of vegetables like cabbages, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes were growing. There were a few aromatic herbs too, such as oregano and coriander.

“Did you plant something there?” Juliette asked, pointing to an empty patch of soil.

“Yes. The other day my family and I sowed seeds for broccoli, peppers and Lum berries.” Kiawe gestured the girl to turn her attention to a different spot. “See those sprouts over there? Soon they will become papayas.”

“That’s great!” Juliette was mesmerized by the many plants of the garden. “When you told me the garden was small I expected something much more...you know, small.”

The girl’s words made her neighbor chuckle. “Well, it is small in comparison to others in this area, but we do what we can.”

“That’s a good thing.” Juliette nodded before taking another quick look at the plants. She wondered if they were going to go somewhere else after the garden visit.

“Hey!” A familiar voice chimed in out of the blue. “How’s it going?”

The newcomer was Luana. This time she was accompanied by one of her Pokémon, a Midday Lycanroc whose shiny blue fur stood out like a beacon, reflecting the light of the setting sun.

“It’s going pretty well,” Kiawe answered. “I’m giving Juliette a tour of the farm until dinner is ready.”

“Ah, that sounds really cool! Can I join you guys?” Luana gave the duo a Rockruff-eyed look that was impossible to say no to.

“Sure! The more the merrier, right?” Kiawe’s rhetorical question was aimed at Juliette, who answered with an awkward silence. If that can be called an answer, that is.

“I think we should take her to the barn, she’ll probably like it,” Luana suggested as she stood between the two, giving her a friendly smile.

“I actually had that in mind! What do you say, Juliette?” Kiawe looked at her intently, awaiting her answer.

“Sure, why not? It’s your house after all.” Convinced that she said something stupid, Juliette cleared her throat. “I mean, you are the ones showing it to me.”

The boy nodded before leading the way. “Let’s go then!” 

Juliette observed how Luana held onto Kiawe’s arm shortly after. _”There must be something between these two, no doubt.”_ The idea of being a couple’s third wheel was less than amusing to her, but she decided to ignore it. Instead, Juliette turned her attention to Luana’s Lycanroc again. It was evident that the Pokémon was well cared for. Even if she didn’t want to get involved with others, Juliette appreciated people who treated their Pokémon well. She felt like asking some questions about the Lycanroc but as usual, she didn’t know what to say.

“Uh…” Juliette hesitated for what felt like forever to her. The other two barely noticed that she was trying to talk. In that moment they were caught up in their own conversation, talking about the upcoming dinner. Seeing this, she decided to leave them alone.

After a while, the trio finally reached the barn. It looked just like the ones from movies and TV shows; It was a wide red construction with a huge gambrel roof. Loose hay was scattered near the ajar door in the front… Which meant that the smells from inside the building escaped through it.

Kiawe gestured Juliette, Luana, and their respective Pokémon to follow him. The first thing Juliette saw upon entering was a Talonflame perching on a play stand. She couldn’t help but stop to take a look at it. The sight of the bird Pokémon inevitably reminded her of her home region. Halbert and Poppy recognized the Pokémon before them as well.

“Is this Pokémon yours?” Juliette asked Kiawe.

The boy stared at Juliette oddly as she stood much further away from Luana and himself. “Yes, he is.”

“He must have reminded you of home, didn’t he?” Luana asked in a sympathetic tone.

Juliette sighed as she mentally scolded herself for distracting the two. “Yeah, he did.” Her Pokémon joined with a brief murmur of agreement as they all walked closer to Luana and Kiawe. _”Stay in the present, Juliette.”_

“Look at the Mudbray! They must have had a good day today.” Luana pointed at a group of Mudbray that lounged on top of a small pile of hay, all half asleep.

“Indeed. They’ve been playing in the mud throughout the day.” Having said that, Kiawe addressed Juliette, who was distracted by the peaceful scene in front of her. Although making her snap out of it wasn’t too hard. “I’m going to show you the place where we store the Moo Moo Milk.”

“Oh, alright!” Juliette promised herself not to get too caught up in her own little world again, at least not while her neighbor and his girlfriend were having the courtesy of showing her around.

They walked in front of a stable with several Tauros and another one with a few Miltank. One of the Miltanks appeared to be heavily pregnant. For a city girl like Juliette, who has never been close to a Pokémon in this state— at least not that she remembers— seeing one for the first time was amazing. _”Wonders of farm life.”_

The quiet ambience of the Pokémon relaxing in the barn could be heard when the three remained silent. Their footsteps could be heard as they trekked along the barn. Despite the peaceful silence, Luana decided to change the quiet tone by striking a conversation with Juliette, who was much too quiet for her liking. “Are you excited about tomorrow?”

The girl looked at Luana like she had two heads and four eyes. The question made her uncomfortable. If she faked her answer it would be too obvious and if she said what she really thought then there would be some explaining to do, and that’s the last thing Juliette wanted. She didn’t want to talk about the barbarities she went through in her old school, especially not the day before going to a new one. She was already too pessimistic to even think about it and in her view, talking about it out loud could attract bad luck. When Juliette thought about it, her thoughts have not drifted in that direction in a while, and that was thanks to the two individuals with her right now. “Well… I don’t have much judgement on that until I see how everything goes.” The girl smiled in hopes that her response was convincing enough.

“Fair enough.” Luana nodded slightly. “I hope you have fun tomorrow and your first day goes well!” 

“Oh, thank you!” Juliette was almost scared by the girl’s kindness. An internal struggle was going on between a side that told her to not believe what Luana said and another one that urged her to stop seeing everything in such a negative light.

Meanwhile, Kiawe stopped in front of a big crate chock-full of milk jugs. “This is where we keep our fresh milk,” he said.

“Oh and get this! Uncle Nohea gets products for Sunrise Café from this very farm!” Luana approached Juliette and placed her hand on her shoulder. The gesture startled Juliette a bit.

“Really? I didn’t know!” Juliette said, trying her best to sound enthusiastic. _”But how would you know that if they never told you?_ ”

Kiawe smiled faintly upon Juliette’s response. “Our families get along very much. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons we work together all the time.”

 _”Oh, of course they get along!”_ Juliette smirked to herself, but her stark verbal response hid her amusement. “That’s really nice.”

“It sure is!” Following her statement, Luana briefly put her arm around Kiawe’s shoulder and grinned playfully at him.

“Sometimes my Charizard and I take the products to the café and we stay there for a while to relax,” The boy added.

“You have a Charizard too?” Juliette’s voice had a hint of disappointment in it, influenced by the fact that most of the kids at her former school picked on her for choosing Bulbasaur over Charmander or Squirtle. She made sure to fix her tone quickly, or at least try to. “I mean, it’s a good Pokémon and...it’s a Fire type.”

Kiawe nodded slightly. “It’s a good Pokémon indeed.” Luckily for her, Kiawe didn’t mind her umpteenth awkward answer of the night. Ignoring the effect of talking to people Juliette barely knows, Kiawe addressed to her once more. “Tell me, what did you think of the farm?”

For once Juliette wasn’t at a loss for words. “I really liked it! I’ve never been to an actual farm. The closest I’ve been to one was this place called Baa de Mer in Kalos, but I’ve only seen it from the outside.”

Luana intervened with a smile across her face. “The Skiddo Ranch, right? I went there when I was a little girl! Riding the Skiddo and Gogoat there is loads of fun. Plus all of the Pokémon there are cute to boot!”

“I wish I could have visited the place at least once,” Juliette sighed.

“You could always visit Kalos again in the future. Maybe then you can visit the ranch,” Kiawe said as he leaned against the wall.

“Uh, as much as I would like to visit it, if I ever went back to Kalos that place wouldn’t be my top priority.”

“Oh?” Luana leaned towards Juliette, which prompted her to step back. “What other place do you have in mind? Anistar City?”

“Well…”

Before Juliette could say anything, the barn’s doors opened. Sima appeared at the entrance, her feet scuffling against the barn floor. “Kids, dinner is ready!”

“Alright, mother!” Kiawe then looked over at his two companions. “Let’s go!”

 _”Finally!”_ She didn’t want to admit it, but Juliette was starting to feel hungry and dinner being ready was good news. Plus, it saved her from having to explain her fascination with Zygarde, which she feared it would weird her neighbors out.

The trio ambled outside the barn. Luana and Juliette were followed closely by their Pokémon while Kiawe’s Talonflame prefered to stay inside the shed. The dark blue color of the sky faded until it became a very pale orange in the horizon, the first stars of the night could be seen and a waning moon made an appearance. The sights around her were something Juliette highly appreciated. Her last day of freedom before school has been great so far. Her new friends– although she refused to call them that so soon– have been a big help taking her mind off of school. Now she has found herself looking forward to having dinner at her new neighbor’s house. It looked like her grandmother was right after all, leaving her room and joining her father has proven to be a good idea.

They soon made it to the dining room. Everyone was sitting down at the table except for Rango and Nohea, who were serving some dishes that have not yet made it to the table. Mimo urged Kiawe to sit beside her while Mainard did the same with Juliette. He and Édith saved a seat between them for her. They knew that would help Juliette feel more at ease and she deeply appreciated the gesture.

It did not take long for Nohea and Rango to retrieve the rest of the dishes and sit down with the rest of the group. Their Pokémon sat not too far from the group, all served with a mixture of Pokémon food and their Trainer’s food. Food that Juliette stared at hungrily, albeit with discretion. _”Wow, they went all out for this!”_ The serving plates were overflowing with various viands such as mashed potatoes, rolls with butter, and mac ‘n’ cheese. A large salad bowl and a tray filled with corn on the cob sat not too far from Juliette. Near the center of the table was the biggest ham Juliette has ever seen, covered with a maple and brown sugar glaze. Lastly, a few pies that were still fuming were put aside from the rest of the food. For Juliette and her family, the best part of the meal was the fact that most of the food— if not all of it— was made out of products straight from the farm. They’ve never experienced something such as this in Kalos.

Sima gently tapped on the table to get everyone’s attention. “Before we start eating, I’d like us to give thanks to the Wela Volcano.”

This was new to Juliette and her family. They weren’t used to praying before their meals, but they knew that this was a custom for other people, so they joined the others in a silent prayer. A solemn atmosphere took over the dining room for a solid, quiet minute. After what felt like an eternity, Sima signaled everyone to start eating. “Serve yourselves and enjoy the meal!”

“Do you want me to serve you?” Mainard asked his daughter before filling his own dish.

Juliette looked at her father’s empty plate and then at him. “Shouldn’t you serve yourself first?”

Mainard chuckled. “I can wait! Tell me, what would you like to have?”

“Alright… I want some mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.” 

Her father took her plate and served a decent amount of mashed potatoes as well as a single cornstick. “Here you go!”

“Thank you!” Juliette smiled at her father before starting to eat. She saw him serve himself some salad out of the corner of her eye.

“This mac ‘n’ cheese is delicious!” Édith congratulated Makoa and Nohea, who were responsible for the preparation of said food.

“Thank you!” Makoa said, waving his hand in front of him sheepishly. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. “The secret is in the sauce.”

“When the sauce is in the right consistency, you have to remove it from the heat and then whisk the cheese into the sauce.” Nohea added in a hushed voice.

Sima overheard the other woman and emitted a good-natured laugh. “No need to murmur, we all know your secret for macaroni and cheese!”

Nohea laughed heartily back at her comment. The environment was cheerful and laid-back. Everyone felt at home. Even Juliette, who less than three hours ago felt completely out of place in this house, felt somewhat at home. _”I can’t believe I’m actually liking it there. This is weird...but also good.”_ She eyed Luana and Kiawe, who were focused on their food besides the occasional comment and Kiawe telling his sister to finish her serving of salad. _”Maybe this would be a good time to ask Luana about her Lycanroc. But, what if she feels annoyed? What if—”_

“I know what that face means as soon as I see it.” As always, Édith “rescued” Juliette from her thoughts. “If you want to talk to someone, just do it!”

“But everybody is eating and I don’t want to bother them!” Juliette took a spoonful of mashed potatoes and shoved it into her mouth as a way to shut herself up. Édith rolled her eyes.

“What an excuse! So are we and we’re still talking. Go ahead!” Édith gave her granddaughter an encouraging pat on the back and went back to eating her macaroni and cheese, discreetly paying attention to what Juliette will do next.

The girl sighed and counted to ten mentally. She had no idea of what to say. After looking at her grandmother out of the corner of her eye in search of an answer that never came, Juliette knew that she had to do this herself.

“Uh… Luana?”

“Yes?” The other girl turned her attention to Juliette immediately. This relieved her as she was sure that Luana would for some reason ignore her.

Juliette took a quick glance at the blue Lycanroc sitting not too far from Luana, who was eating wildly from his bowl, and then looked back at his owner. “Your Lycanroc is shiny, right?”

“That’s right!” Luana smiled brightly. “His name is Pohaku. He was my very first Pokémon!”

Juliette raised her eyebrows and gave her a wide-eyed look. “Wow, you got a shiny Pokémon as your first partner? You’re really lucky!” 

“I have to thank my parents for that.” Luana looked down at her plate, which was filled with salad and macaroni, and faintly sighed. “They’re shiny hunters and they’re really good at it. I hope I can be like them someday. I’ve yet to find a shiny myself. Father gave me Pohaku when he was in an egg!”

 _”She has an interesting goal too…”_ Again, Juliette took a quick glance out of the corner of her eye at her grandmother, who was currently focused on the mashed potatoes she was now serving herself. Her father was talking to Luana’s uncle about the recent move. Why not go on with the conversation?

“Tell me, since you’re from Kalos too, have you ever tried to challenge the Gym Leaders?” Juliette leaned forward without realizing. Her grandmother, who was well aware of the events around her, nodded at the gesture. 

“My family moved to Alola when I was five, so I never had the chance. But I did take on the Island Challenge!”

“The Island Challenge?” Juliette tilted her head slightly in confusion. _”Yet another thing I don’t know about.”_

“The Island Challenge,” Kiawe chimed in, “is like a rite of passage of sorts. All Pokémon Trainers can participate when they turn eleven years-old.”

“You travel across all the islands to beat several trials in each of them. When you’re done with these trials, you have to battle the Island Kahuna, the strongest Trainer of the island!” Luana’s eyes sparkled at the the thought of the aforementioned, recalling all of her fond memories. 

Juliette leaned back on her seat, nodding slowly. “That sounds interesting indeed!”

“Maybe you should give it a try. You obtain a Z-Crystal as well after completing each trial,” Kiawe explained.

“So it’s like obtaining Gym Badges in a way…” Juliette briefly rested her chin on her hand. “I’ll be honest, I’ve never been interested in these kinds of journeys. When I was in Kalos, I was the only one in my class who didn’t want to challenge the Gym Leaders.”

“You are not forced to do it if you don’t want to, you know,” Kiawe reassured her. “Maybe one day you will set on a life-changing journey of your own.”

Yet again, Juliette took a quick look at her grandmother. _”Maybe he’s right. Setting on my own life changing journey would be...interesting, to say at least.”_ She suspected Édith had the key to that.

“Also, the Island Challenge is not just about beating trials and getting Z-Crystals. You also make great friends along the way.” Luana smiled and looked at Kiawe. “For an example, Kiawe and I took on the Trials roughly around the same time. We bonded during that time, and now we’re best friends!”

 _”Oh, so they’re just friends!”_ No matter how hard she tried, Juliette couldn’t contain an amused smile. “Yeah, I can tell!”

The dinner went on between lively conversations, laughs, and good food. Everyone was caught up in the cheerful spirit of the reunion, especially Juliette, who needed it the most amongst the people in the dining room. That cheerful spirit gave her a bit of strength to face the next day, a day that she hoped wouldn’t be an uphill climb. Deep down, she knew that was up to her and her attitude.


	5. Baptized by fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of school has finally arrived much to Juliette’s dismay. Despite her family’s support, her fear of being pushed aside and treated harshly still looms over her. Luckily for Juliette, she will find some familiar faces between the walls of Akala Trainer Academy. Will her new classmates and her extravagant teachers help Juliette feel at ease, or will the two rascals in her classroom ruin it all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about taking so long to upload this chapter, life has been getting in the middle a lot. I will make sure to try to update more regularly from now on. This being said, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Time never went by so slowly inside of a moving car. At least not for Juliette. She was now on her way to her new school, Akala Trainer Academy. The situation reminded her of a time when she went zip-lining during a school trip and the instructor pushed her because she didn’t dare to jump herself. Even though this time Juliette’s life wasn’t in danger, it was just as scary to her. Besides, the sudden change from a rural setting to a reasonably big city was a shock to her. She only hoped that the new school was nothing like the one in Anistar City.

“Julie, is your schedule at hand?” her father asked without taking his eyes off of the road.

“Yes Dad, but I haven’t look at it yet. I will when I get there.”

Édith— who was there as well to give her granddaughter some support— shook her head and looked at Juliette. “Are you saying you aren’t excited to know about the subjects you will be taking?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that I’ve put it off many times and I never looked at it.” Juliette adjusted her cap nervously.

“We understand that you’re nervous about it, but keep in mind that this school is different from the one in Anistar City. You will like it there!” Mainard tried to spread enthusiasm to his daughter.

“That’s true. This is a Trainer School while the other wasn’t, even if Pokémon were allowed.” Juliette shifted in her seat, wondering how long it would be until they made it to school.

“And that’s why you shouldn’t be nervous,” Édith patted her granddaughter’s back, “It will be much better, you’ll see!” 

“If you say so…”

Juliette looked through the car’s window and remembered the relaxing atmosphere of last night’s dinner and tried to go back to that moment in her mind. She felt great then, even though she was unsure about it at first. The same may be applied now… Juliette has a strong reason to try and make the most out of this school. Her grandmother’s promise.

Now that she was about to start attending classes, it shouldn’t be long until Édith revealed her intentions behind showing Juliette the interview with Sina and Dexio. A little more than a week had passed since then and Juliette was starting to get restless about it. She wondered how long it would take for her grandmother to spill the beans. One day? A week? A month? When Édith decides to act cryptic there’s no way to tell what she has in mind and sadly for Juliette, this was one of these times.

The constructions seemed to grow in size the more their car advanced. If they looked back, the family would be able to see the Hano Grand Resort standing proudly in the distance. On the other hand, the building they were headed for—which was very far from being a holiday resort—was much closer to them. Groups of teenagers were visible on the sidewalks and much to Juliette’s dismay, there were quite a lot of people. _”Do it for what Grandma told you. Do it for...him.”_ Although unintentionally melodramatic, Juliette’s thoughts were the only thing keeping her from trying to jump out of the car. That and her family’s presence, of course. They were wishing the best for her and she didn’t want to be ungrateful.

The vehicle slowed down as it approached the main gate of the school’s building. _”This is it.”_ Juliette barely looked at it. She prefered to wait until her father and grandmother were gone to examine the campus by herself, which was a rather brave move on her behalf.

“Here we are!” Mainard said as he looked at his daughter, following the sentence with an encouraging smile.

“ _Ouah,_ this school is smaller than the one in Anistar City, but it looks prettier!” Édith looked in awe, an emotion that her granddaughter didn’t share. At least not yet.

A light silence took hold inside the vehicle. People minding their own business walked past the car; most of them being kids and teenagers that were headed towards the school. The zip-lining incident memory took a hold of her again. She didn’t dare to jump by herself, although she knew she had to do it.

“Well…” she tried, “Er, should I open the door?”

Her father and grandmother looked at her with a sympathetic expression. However, a crooked smile soon appeared on Édith’s face. “If you don’t do it, nobody else will!” The woman then became a bit more serious, ready to add in a piece of her mind. She leaned in close and whispered, “Plus, if you don’t go, you’ll never learn more about the interview.”

The realization hit Juliette like a truck. That was the final push she needed. Juliette gathered all of her things and left the car at lightning speed, unintentionally slamming the car door. She was aware that some people were looking directly at her now and her face burned in embarrassment because of it. However, she kept in mind that there was something in the end that made going through this embarrassing situation worth it. At least that’s what Juliette thought. She hoped her grandmother wasn’t using the interview with Sina and Dexio just to convince her to go to school.

“Remember, this is going to be different from Kalos. I hope you have a good time!” Mainard beamed, straining his neck so he could see his daughter from the driver’s seat.

“Also,” Édith leaned towards the window, “if someone happens to be rude to you today do _not_ hesitate to tell your teacher. They will know how to help you.”

“Unless teachers here are as apathetic as the ones in Kalos,” Juliette retorted as she sighed and examined her surroundings. Almost everyone was inside the campus, even though the school bell hasn’t rung yet. “I think I should go inside already. See you later!”

“See you Juliette, good luck!” Mainard and Édith waved goodbye at the girl before the former started the car. Juliette kept waving at them until she lost sight of the vehicle. The moment of truth had arrived.

Like her grandmother said not even five minutes ago, the school was indeed smaller than the previous one. Juliette slowly walked through the white gates alongside a few preoccupied students, looking in awe at the wide campus. She walked towards a statue that stood in the middle of the yard. It depicted Akala Island’s guardian, Tapu Lele. According to what her father told her, the Pokémon also served as the academy’s mascot. The high school in Anistar City didn’t have a mascot, but everyone there took pride in the fact that the building was not too far from the Sundial.

However, the statue wasn’t the only thing that caught her eye. Upon looking to her right, she spotted a couple of battlefields meant for Pokémon battles. There were two more on the left side of the campus. It was inevitable for Juliette to make comparisons to her former school; they didn’t have battlefields in Anistar. Students battled in the schoolyard and although that worked just fine, seeing that this school had an area specially meant for battling somehow made Juliette think that Akala Trainer Academy was more complete despite being smaller in size. Besides that, almost everyone on campus had one or two Pokémon out. In Anistar City, students were only allowed to let their Pokémon out during recess.

Although she liked the environment so far, Juliette couldn’t help but feel like a Magikarp out of water. She observed how nearly everyone talked to each other rather animatedly while she was one of few who were all by themselves. On top of that, she has been standing in place awkwardly. To her it was like she was wearing a neon sign that read “New Kid”. A little group of students that stood not too far from Juliette looked at her in a way that lacked discretion. Luckily enough for Juliette, they looked away from her. She took this as a sign to move along and continued to make her way through the campus.

Not knowing where to go, Juliette walked aimlessly around the campus. Since there were lots of Pokémon out and about, she decided to let one of hers out as well. Juliette retrieved Poppy’s Poké Ball from her bag. _”She will love this place and getting to see so many Pokémon, no doubt!”_

Like Juliette had thought, as soon as Poppy emerged from her Poké Ball she looked around in awe, pausing to look at the grass fields in the school grounds and the variety of Pokémon that hung out with both their Trainers and each other. The enthusiastic Pokémon was about to run off to join a group comprised by a Fomantis, a Trumbeak and a Pichu…but the school bell rang at that very moment. This was the real moment of truth.

Juliette breathed in deeply before picking up Poppy, her legs dangling in the air as if to escape her Trainer’s grasp. “I don’t want you to get lost in the crowd, you know.” With her Pokémon now resting in her arms, the girl headed the towards the campus’s front door, which was shaped as an arch and made up of mainly glass and dark wood. Her steps were slow and hesitating. In one hand Juliette didn’t want to mingle with the crowd, but in the other hand she knew she had to do it if she wanted to make it to her first class on time. Since it was her first day, she had little to no clue where her classroom was and what subject she will be learning first. But those questions could easily be answered using one particular slip of paper.

Juliette put Poppy on the floor for a moment and got her schedule from her bag. This was the very first time Juliette bothered to look at the dreaded slip of paper. Reading the schedule over, Juliette learned that her first class subject is Pokémon Variations and her teacher was someone named Samson Oak. The name sounded familiar to her… _”Wasn’t this the principal’s name?”_ She recalled her mother mentioning the school’s principal was a man named Samson.

A sudden pat on Juliette’s shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. The girl had been sidetracked for so long that she became unaware of her surrounding. She turned around vehemently, not knowing what to expect. The girl froze in place when she saw a bronze skinned man standing in front of her. From his looks she could tell that he was definitely not a student.

“Well this is unfortunate! I didn’t mean to _Starly_ you!” The man’s long, grey hair was the most remarkable part of his appearance. His outfit was rather garish; he appeared to look like a tourist rather than a teacher.

“It’s...fine, I guess. Today is my first day here and I’m a bit lost…” Juliette rubbed the nape of her neck, avoiding eye contact with the man.

“Aha! You must be the new student! It’s nice to meet you. My name is Samson Oak; Akala Trainer Academy’s principal! But you probably knew that already!” He accompanied his words with the traditional greeting gesture of the region. 

_”The principal is also a teacher?! I didn’t expect this. And that pun…”_ Juliette greeted him back with the familiar gesture. “I-I read that you are the teacher for the Pokémon Variations subject,” she stammered. “Could you tell me w-where the classroom is?” Oak laughed joyously at her question, earning him a questionable glare from Juliette.

“Not only can I tell you where it is, I’ll lead you there! We are both going to the same place, after all.” 

Oak’s laid-back attitude was radically different from what Juliette witnessed in the school teachers of her home region. Some even despised their job. “O-oh right! I’ll make sure to remember the way there…” 

With a brief moment of hesitation, Juliette picked up Poppy and followed her new teacher to the classroom. There were a scarce amount of students loitering around the hallways due to their teachers’ arriving late. Oak guestured Juliette to wait as he approached the small group of students.

“Youngsters, your teachers will be here in no time. I’m sure they’ll be _Happiny_ to see everyone inside the classroom!” These words were enough for the teenagers to go inside their classrooms without any disobedience. Oak turned around to face Juliette, who had observed the scene in silence. “Alright, let’s Gogoat!”

The hallway was not very wide and rather short for a school, keeping in mind the building’s size. The walls were colored beige, making the dark wood doors stand out. Small signs hung on the wall right next to each door; C-4, C-5, and so on, indicating each classroom. Watching the doors go by was excruciating for Juliette and she wondered if the doors would go by forever. _”Well If you looked at the schedule when Mom and Dad gave it to you, you’d know the classroom!”_

Luckily—or unluckily—for her, it only took a minute more to reach what would be her classroom from now on: Room C-8. Oak placed his hand on the doorknob, but he didn’t open the door just yet. “I nearly forgot! I’d like you to introduce yourself to the class before we start, alright?”

_”No.”_ Juliette’s eyes widened. _”Is he really going to put me through this…? But I can’t say no to the principal, much less on my first day…”_ The girl realized her teacher was waiting for her answer. She nodded rather exaggeratedly, “Y-yes! It’s fine by me,” she lied out of her teeth.

“Good!” At that moment Oak opened the door without asking if she was ready. Without any warning. It was the zip-lining incident all over again.

Juliette followed her teacher with her head hung low. Because of this, the first thing she saw upon entering the room was a Komala fast asleep next to the teacher’s desk. The teen didn’t know where to look, she didn’t dare to look at her new classmates, although she knew she had to. Not even having Poppy snuggled up close in her arms helped her feel at ease. Either way, Juliette was soon distracted by the faint Poké Ball patterns on the dark wooden floor, zoning out what Oak was saying to the class.

“...a new student. Please, introduce yourself!” He looked in Juliette’s direction with a kind smile. Again, Juliette felt like Oak was waiting on her.

Hesitating, the girl shifted her focus from the floor to the students in the classroom. As soon as she did, a sharp gasp came from the first row, startling Juliette. She was shocked upon discovering said gasper: Luana, the girl she had just recently formerly met, sat with her mouth ajar, an expression that showed both surprise and happiness. But that was not all; in the second and last row was Kiawe. He looked at Juliette with a small smile planted on his face. _”Is this a dream or is it really happening?”_ The other students seemed more or less curious about her identity, exchanging looks and whispers amongst each other.

The sight of those two familiar faces filled Juliette with slight encouragement. She looked down at her Bulbasaur for a second before directing her gaze at the class again. “A-Alola! My name is Juliette Ronson. I come from Anistar City, in Kalos. I moved here with my family very recently.” She shot an awkward look at Oak in search of approval. All he did was nod ever so slightly. “That’s all. I hope we can...get along.”

“Alola!” The rest of the students welcomed her except for two boys sitting in the last row who looked rather bored, although the day had just started.

Oak then approached Juliette, pointing to an empty seat on the second row which was right next to the wall. “This will be your seat from now on. I sincerely _Hoopa_ feel at ease here!”

“Yeah,” she dragged on the word, “I hope so too.”

The teen headed for her desk quietly, averting every students’ curious glares. Poppy squirmed in her grasp, begging to be let free. The Pokémon wanted to play with the other student’s Pokémon that sat next to their Trainers or in other corners of the classroom. Most if not all of the Pokémon were unfamiliar to Poppy. The Togedemaru belonging to the boy sitting next to Juliette quickly caught her attention and as soon as her Trainer put her down, Poppy approached the dual Electric and Steel type.

Juliette was far from sharing her Bulbasaur’s social attitude. As soon as she sat down, she slowly but surely took out all of the necessary things for school out of her bag, fixating her gaze only on her belongings. She hoped that nobody would say anything to her, but that was futile. The young boy sitting to her right side wanted to introduce himself.

“H-Hey! My name is Sophocles.” The naturally rosy hue on the boy’s cheeks intensified as he spoke quietly. “You said you come from Kalos, right? I heard there’s a brilliant inventor there.”

Juliette didn’t know what to answer at first. _”He seems kinda shy too. That’s...adorable.”_ It took her a few seconds until she remembered who Sophocles was referring to. “Oh, Clemont! I think you’re talking about Clemont. He is good at what he does, yes...” Unfortunately, she didn’t feel confident enough to maintain a conversation and the girl soon shifted her attention back to her school equipment. Despite her arrival, it was still a regular school day and Juliette intended to pay as much attention as possible. Meanwhile, her Bulbasaur was busy playing with Sophocles’s Togedemaru in between their Trainers’ desks.

Oak took no time to start the lesson. He wrote the words _Totem Pokémon_ on a large blackboard that was hung behind his desk and in front of the classroom. “Alright, who can explain what exactly Totem Pokémon are?” Luana raised her arm vigorously just as the teacher was done asking his question. Oak gave the floor to her.

“Totem Pokémon are the Pokémon that you battle at the end of every Trial! They are trained by the Trial Captains themselves.”

“ _Raichu_ are!” He wrote down Luana’s statement on the blackboard just below the title in neat bullet points. “Does somebody have anything else to add?” Oak’s eyes scanned the room.

A petite blue haired girl raised her arm this time. “They usually weigh two to four times more than Pokémon of their same species.”

Oak hummed in agreement and nodded as wrote the new information on the blackboard. Then he turned to face the classroom once again. “Now, does anybody know the reason why Totem Pokémon are bigger than other Pokémon?”

“Because they eat too much, that’s why!” A boy with dark blue hair adorned in a matte black tank-top, dark brown capris, and black and white sneakers said aggressively, shooting a nasty look at Sophocles. Juliette caught the boy’s stare directed to her neighboring classmate. The aggressor was leaned back in his chair with his legs propped up on the desk. 

Although he was sitting on the opposite end of the row, Juliette saw the expression in his dark blue eyes and it scared her. Any little hint of comfort she felt was gone. _”What did I expect? Of course there would be bad people in this school. I’m glad I always kept the possibility in mind.”_

The teacher still maintained his relaxed attitude despite the disruption. “No Cyan, that’s not w–”

“It’s Chaos, not Cyan!” If looks could kill, the class would have ended at that moment.

“Alright, Chaos.” Oak was not fazed by Cyan’s explosive attitude. He continued with the class as if nothing happened. “One of the theories regarding the unusual size of these Pokémon has to do with the _Aurorus_ that surrounds them during battle. It has been proven that this aura boosts certain characteristics of these Pokémon. What characteristics are we talking about?”

This time it was Kiawe who requested the floor, “Their speed and endurance, for an example.”

“Very well!” Oak wrote the info down on the blackboard. “Please write down the notes from the blackboard. This will be on the next exam!”

_”Again, what did I expect? Of course they do exams!”_ The idea of doing an exam so soon didn’t enthuse Juliette, especially keeping in mind that the topics covered would most likely be unfamiliar to her. In her short time in Alola she could tell that the way people lived with Pokémon was different from that of Kalos. She looked at Sophocles—who was writing down the annotations on the chalkboard—and tried to ask him about it, but the words just wouldn’t come out.

“Uh…” she started, slightly leaning towards him, “Sophocles?”

“Yes?” The boy barely took his eyes off his notebook, avoiding direct eye contact with her. 

“Is there an exam coming up?”

“Yeah, we are having it next week so you should have plenty of time to study.”

Juliette nodded and returned to a normal position on her seat. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Cyan—or Chaos—sitting on his chair like it was his home’s couch instead. Between him and Kiawe sat a boy wearing fancy attire; a dark brown overcoat, black form fitting pants, and pointed brown shoes made of leather. He sat leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed and his eyes shut, a frown placed on his thin lips. _”How can Oak be so calm with these kinds of people in his classroom and do nothing about it? My old teacher would have kicked them out by now!”_

Meanwhile, Oak handed out a worksheet to each student. When he handed one to Juliette, she skimmed over the questions briefly. Each one was about Totem Pokémon, as she expected. Before working on the assignment, she decided to quickly jot down the notes on the blackboard...if the murmuring of her classmates allowed her to. She briefly looked up from her assignment only to see Luana smiling at her.

“I can’t wait for recess time to come!” she whispered excitedly to Juliette.

Ah yes, recess time. Juliette’s least favorite part of the school day. “It shouldn’t be long until then, I guess.” She was still a bit too nervous to maintain a proper conversation. Luana was dying to talk to her more, but she just nodded and turned her attention to the worksheet on her desk.

However, Juliette did look forward to asking either Luana or Kiawe why they didn’t tell her that they would be classmates during yesterday’s union. That would have allowed her to feel more confident, knowing that she would find at least a couple of familiar faces. The fact that everyone in the classroom seemed to know each other well didn’t help her. Juliette felt like an intruder. Deep down she knew it was an irrational feeling, especially after seeing Luana and Kiawe here as well as the kindness her new teacher and Sophocles had shown her so far, but she still felt that way regardless.

She overheard fragments of conversations between her classmates. “Are we going to talk about that in a couple of weeks, then?” A dark skinned boy sitting next to Luana asked the aforementioned.

“I don’t know Hau, we will have to wait until the teacher says something about it,” she answered in a hushed tone.

“Mallow, is this an _a_ or an _o_?” The blue haired girl in the front row asked the girl sitting next to her, showing the worksheet about Totem Pokémon.

“I’m not sure myself, Lana, but it kind of looks like an _a_ to me. I hope I’m not wrong!”

Juliette was surprised to see her classmates address each other by their names. _”I need to stop comparing this school to the old one,”_ she told herself, recalling how in her old class every kid seemed to be named “Hey you” or something similar. Plus, there were a lot of people so remembering everybody’s name was difficult, even for the teacher. In this classroom there were only ten students. Juliette looked over at Kiawe to see what he was up to. Like almost everybody else, he was working on the worksheet Oak gave him. She then shifted her attention to a well dressed girl in the first row.

Her entire outfit was white, save for some light blue accents. An enormous sunhat rested next to her desk with an Alolan Vulpix snuggled up inside of it. For whatever reason, the girl’s bag was still hanging from her shoulder. Juliette rolled her eyes at the sight. _”Look at her, she’s probably afraid that someone will steal her super expensive bag. Another one to watch out for.”_

“ _Crustle_ up, students! I’ll be picking up your assignments shortly!” Oak was now sitting on his desk organizing several papers. The Komala—who Juliette assumed was his—still snoozed next to him.

_”Alright, now is not the time to worry about what everyone in this class might be like. I should be doing these exercises or else the teacher won’t be too happy...and neither will Grandma.”_ With those thoughts in mind, Juliette started working for good. There will be plenty of time to worry about the personality of her new schoolmates later.

\----------------------------------------

After an explanation about the differences between Kantonian and Alolan environments that lasted more than an hour, the school’s bell rang loudly overhead. Recess has begun, much to the student’s joy. For most of them, anyways. Juliette had no idea what she will be doing for the duration of the time. The time may be short, but to her it would feel like an eternity. _”Sure there’s Luana and Kiawe to consider, but they’ll probably be hanging out with their other friends…”_ Juliette sighed and called for Poppy to follow her. The girl had to beckon her Bulbasaur twice because the latter was staring in awe at the teacher’s Komala.

When the two were about to leave the classroom, Juliette felt someone lightly grab her wrist. With her shoulders hunched, she turned around to identify whoever was trying to retain her. It was none other than Luana.

“Juliette! How are you?” she cooed.

Baffled by Luana’s never-ending affability, Juliette was at a loss for words. “I-I’m doing pretty well,” she managed to say after a few seconds of silence. “And you?”

“I’m doing great! Isn’t it such a lovely coincidence that we’re in the same class? Here, let me introduce you to someone.” The boy who sat right next to Luana stood right by her side. She put her right arm around his shoulders and grinned widely. “This is my closest friend, Hau!”

“Alola!” Hau greeted her with a similar grin. Juliette could already tell why these two were friends. Their personalities were practically one of the same.

“Alola!” she saluted back, clueless on what to say next.

Just a few seconds after the exchange, Kiawe joined them with his Alolan Marowak following close by. “Hey, we should head to the courtyard together. What do you say?” His question was aimed at Juliette.

She shrugged, sporting a nervous smile. “That’s fine with me, I guess...”

“Great! Let’s get going then!” Kiawe said.

Upon leaving the classroom, Juliette was surprised to see such a small amount of people in the hallway. It was easy to tell that the school was small in size at that very moment. She almost sighed in relief, knowing that she would be able to make it to the courtyard without having to thread her way through a big crowd. However, this time she will not be spending recess alone, unlike before. _”At least it’ll be better than spending it locked inside the janitor’s room…”_

“Hey Juliette,” Luana’s voice silenced her thoughts. Now they were located in the lobby. “See those stairs over there? They lead to an indoor battlefield meant for bad weather days! It gets pretty noisy when people battle up there, but everyone is used to it.”

“Although it almost never rains here in Alola!” Hau chimed in. “So usually other students go upstairs to hang out during recess.”

Luana smiled at the comment. “Better be safe than sorry!”

“That’s...interesting,” Juliette murmured, taking a quick glance at the stairs.

“Juliette, there’s a small canteen in the courtyard,” Kiawe changed the subject. “Would you like to get something from there or would you rather go outside the campus?”

“No thanks. I brought lunch from home.”

“Hau and I will go get something from the canteen!” Luana then looked at Kiawe and said, “You should stay with Juliette until we come back so she won’t have to be alone!”

“Sure. We will be waiting for you near the battlefields,” he replied in agreement.

Once the group made it outside, they went on their separate ways. While Hau and Luana headed for the canteen, Kiawe led Juliette to a bench close to one of the battlefields on the left side of the campus. The two of them remained quiet for a few moments until Juliette—albeit with difficulty—decided to break the silence herself.

“Kiawe?”

“Yes?” He looked at her.

“Yesterday when I said that I would be coming to this school, why didn’t you or Luana say that we would be classmates?”

“Oh…” Kiawe smiled nervously. “We didn’t think that you would be in the same class as us, that’s all. But having you here will be interesting.”

Juliette almost jumped from her seat. “Wait, you really think so?”

“Yes. Why should I think otherwise?” He gave her a quizzical look, his head slightly tilted.

“Nothing, it’s nothing…” The girl sighed and decided to observe the battlefield in front of them.

Two boys had just started a battle. One of them sent out a Machoke while the other settled for a Ribombee. Poppy and Kiawe’s Marowak followed the battle attentively. When Juliette spotted her and Kiawe’s Pokémon’s endearing interest of the clash, she remembered her reaction to learning about Alolan variants yesterday. _”That could be an excuse to attempt to start a conversation again…”_ She felt guilty being so quiet when Kiawe was bothering—in her eyes at least—to keep her company when he could have chosen to go with his friends instead.

“Remember when you told me about Alolan variants yesterday?” She smiled awkwardly.

“Of course I do. What do you think of my vaunted Marowak?” Kiawe petted his Pokémon’s head.

“He surely looks different from any Marowak I’ve ever seen. It’s kind of...shocking.” 

The boy nodded. “That’s a common reaction for people who come to Alola without hearing about these variations, so I understand your reasoning.” 

Just as Juliette tried to think of what to say next, Hau and Luana came back from the canteen followed by their Pokémon; an Alolan Raichu and a Vaporeon respectively. Both of the Trainers were carrying a small paper bag and something to drink.

“Mhm, jelly filled malasadas!” Hau squealed in delight as he retrieved a sugar covered ball of deep-fried dough from the oil-stained bag. Luana sighed playfully from the sight.

“Malasadas, of course. It’s like no other delicacy existed!” Luana shook her head, a faint smile appearing on her face.

The newcomers sat next to Juliette and Kiawe. Their respective Pokémon soon began to play with each other. Juliette had Luana sitting to her right and as she expected, the bubbly waitress was eager to start a conversation, “What do you have for lunch?”

Juliette opened her lunch box where a ham and cheese sandwich and an apple juice box sat. “This has been my school lunch for years. Now that we’re in a different region I expected it to change, but...I guess I’ll have to tell my Dad about it.”

“Your dad makes your lunch? How lucky!” Hau exclaimed with a full mouth. “Mine is in Kanto. I wish he could visit me and Gramps more often.”

_”His father is in another region! And to think I complain about Mom working too much…”_ Juliette didn’t know how to reply to him. 

“I guess being the son of a Kahuna is too much for him…” The happy-go-lucky expression and joyous tone Hau spoke with made it sound like his father being so far away wasn’t a big deal. “He’s a powerful Trainer, yes, but he works far from Alola nowadays.” 

“ _Wait,_ your grandfather is a Kahuna?!” Juliette’s eyes widened.

“Yes! He is Melemele Island’s strongest Trainer and I aim to beat him in battle someday. Beating him is one of the main reasons I’m here.”

“I would know,” Luana added, “after we finished the Island Challenge Hau told me he wanted to enroll in a Trainer school because it might help him.”

Juliette tilted her head in confusion. “But Hau, don’t you live in Melemele? I heard there’s a Trainer School there too.” 

“Yeah, but I thought going to this one would be better because then I’m close to my friends!”

Luana raised her index finger. “As a matter of fact, I live in Melemele too but like Hau said, I prefer this school because all my friends are here.”

“Lillie lives in Melemele Island as well,” Kiawe commented.

“In Lillie’s case, she’s here because her mother is convinced that this school is the best for her, for whatever reason.” Hau went silent for a moment and then grinned; a faint tint of pink crossing his cheeks. “But I don’t mind her being here!”

“Is Lillie the girl with the sunhat next to her desk?” Juliette asked all of the sudden. As the words left her mouth, however, she realized that this was a pointless question.

“Yes!” Luana answered. “For some reason, your question reminds me of when Lillie told me that her mother chose her attire, including the sunhat she wears. I do find it a little odd—considering I’ve been choosing my own clothes since I was a little girl—but I like to think that her mother likes to do that for Lillie.”

Juliette nodded slightly. _”I think I was a bit too quick to judge this Lillie girl.”_ From the look of things, she was also a bit too quick to think that recess time would be a bore. Getting to learn a bit more about her new classmates was interesting and so far none of them were rude to her. Deep down she was afraid that this would change as days went by, but she wanted to trust them especially Luana and Kiawe. They seemed to be reliable, at least to Juliette. _”Only time will tell,”_ the girl told herself; a slight feeling of uncertainty settling within her. 

\----------------------------------------

Time went by strangely fast. Against all odds, Juliette felt at ease during break time. Luana, Hau, and Kiawe proved to be good company to her and she secretly hoped they would stick around the next day too. A little bit of familiarity never hurts.

The other surprise of the day for Juliette was how fast the day went by overall. Now they were facing the last lesson of the day, which had to do with Pokémon moves. The teacher arrived to the class less than five minutes ago. Juliette was shocked to see him wear no shirt under his white lab coat. He was adorned in shorts, exercise shoes, a hat, and wide sunglasses.

“Do they allow people to just go around shirtless in this school?” Juliette asked Luana discreetly, her head hung low as she leaned in towards the girl. 

Luana giggled and whispered, “They do. I mean, look at Kiawe! Since it’s so hot in this region, we see it as something normal.” 

“But this man is a teacher…” Juliette murmured to herself.

“I see a new face!” The aforementioned exclaimed, staring in Juliette and Luana’s direction.

The girl wanted to hide. _”Quelle horreur, I hope he didn’t hear me!”_

“Alola! You must be Juliette, the new student. I’m Professor Kukui; the professor of the region and a volunteer teacher to this school. I hope you won’t find my classes too boring!”

The class laughed with Kukui’s comment and again, Juliette didn’t know how to react. “Well...I don’t think they will be boring,” she replied timidly.

“Glad to hear that. Let’s start then!” Kukui turned to face the blackboard and began to write on it. The text read _The importance of Status Moves._ “I think it’s about time we Tackled this subject! How many of you use Status Moves regularly?”

“Please,” The student with the fancy jacket spoke, “no one uses such moves when all you need is raw power.”

“That’s what I like to hear, Telford!” Chaos humoured him noisily and then proceeded to fist bump his colleague.

“Actually,” Kukui spoke, “you kids will be surprised to learn that it’s actually the opposite! Most Trainers don’t give Status Moves a chance because the majority of them prefer using powerful moves that sweep their opponents in the blink of an eye. Isn’t that right, Telford?”

The boy rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly, leaning against his seat.

“Who can tell me one possible effect of Status Moves?” After Kukui’s request, Lillie raised her hand. “Yes?”

“Some Status Moves can be used to heal your Pokémon, your allies, and sometimes even your opponent.”

“Correct!” Kukui cheered, quickly writing the information down on the chalkboard. “Healing moves are very helpful when you are in a pinch. Besides, you even get to save cash!” The class reacted by laughing heartily. Juliette didn’t know what to do because if she feigned her laugh it would be too evident, so she just smiled. “Alright, what are other uses of Status Moves?” 

“They can cause Status conditions too! Like Paralysis or Poisoning,” Sophocles said.

“Well said Sophocles! Status conditions are possibly one of the best known effects of Status Moves, yeah,” Kukui annotated the new information on the blackboard as well. “Status Moves like Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Hypnosis, Toxic Spikes and many others can cause different effects on the opposing Pokémon. These conditions affect the Pokémon’s battle prowess and can grant the user a huge advantage. What else can we do with Status Moves?”

“Some of them boost the Pokémon’s stats and power up their strength, like in Bulk Up’s case,” Kiawe answered.

“That too, oh yeah!” the teacher beamed as he wrote down the information before he faced his students again. “As you can see, Status Moves are actually pretty useful in battle. With the correct strategy, they can be a surefire way to win a battle!”

“Is there something else we need to know?” Telford droned, sprawled out on his seat as if he was watching a boring TV show.

“Yeah, there’s something else y’all need to know about Status Moves. Also,” Kukui added, “I would appreciate if you sat more normally, Telford.”

Telford narrowly looked at Chaos and then at Kukui a few times. He muttered something under his breath to his partner as he adapted a less relaxed position at his seat. Now he was leaning on his desk, resting his chin on his hand with a bored expression across his face. Juliette observed the scene out of the corner of her eye, marveling at how teachers could make students conform to them without making a fuss. _”Now I’m almost convinced that Alolan people are indeed different.”_

Kukui was now ready to start his explanation. “There’s something that can make Status Moves even more interesting and that’s combining them with Z-Moves. Pokémon Trainers hardly combine the two, which is such a shame.” The teacher paused to look at the students’ reactions. They looked at him in silence, expecting him to continue. However, they would have to wait because Kukui had a different idea in mind. “Juliette, what can you say about Z-Moves?” 

That was the last thing the girl expected to hear. _”Z-Moves? I barely know anything about them! Didn’t Kiawe tell me something about them yesterday?”_ Juliette shot Kiawe a short, nervous glance before staring down at the open, blank notebook that sat on her desk. Her mind was as empty as the new notebook itself. She could practically feel her classmates gazes and that made things worse, especially with those two troublemakers scrutinizing her as well.

“Well?” Kukui smiled in an attempt to not make his new student feel pressured. However, this gesture was futile.

“Uhm, they never told us about Z-Moves where I come from. But I heard they are very powerful and…” Juliette looked at Kiawe out of the corner of her eye, trying to remember their conversation on the subject from the previous day. Luckily for her, it didn’t take long until it came to her. “Ah! They also require the Trainer and their Pokémon to synchronize their wishes, I think.”

“Yeah! That’s a real good explanation,” Kukui nodded, ”but that’s just scratching the surface of what Z-Moves are. I’ll give you all a brief explanation.”

“Okay…?” Juliette said with a tiny voice, trying to ignore her classmates’ continuous stares. _”Zut, is this really necessary?”_

“To sum it up as simple as possible, Z-Moves come from this energy called Z-Power, which is a really mysterious aura that surrounds both the Pokémon and their Trainer. As Juliette said, they can only be performed when the Trainer and the Pokémon synchronize their wishes. This energy is very powerful and after use, you and your Pokémon will be left exhausted, thus only letting you use this power once per battle.”

_”This does sound a lot like Mega Evolution.”_ Juliette nodded and smiled faintly at Kukui’s explanation. “Now I understand better. Thank you for the explanation.”

Kukui smiled widely. “No problem! We’re here to learn after all, right? ‘Kay,” he continued, “as I was saying before, not many Trainers think of combining Status Moves with Z-Moves. They’re missing really good stuff! For example, we all know how the move Splash does nothing, right? What if I told y’all that, when combined with Z-Powers, this move raises your Pokémon’s physical strength drastically?”

The classroom became a sea of baffled faces accompanied by the sound of the students’ confused murmurs. “But how is that possible?” Lana asked.

“Sadly, since Z-Powers are such a mysterious thing, there’s not much of an explanation to that phenomenon as of today. But maybe someday we’ll get an answer,” Kukui said. “But that’s not all! When Status Moves are upgraded into Z-Moves, they still keep their original effect. If you were to use, let’s say Toxic, as a Z-Move, your Pokémon will improve its endurance _and_ poison its foe! Status and Z-moves are fascinating, oh yeah!” 

“They sure are!” Luana expressed her excitement out loud. Students laughed at her outburst but also and agreed with the statement.

Juliette wrote down Kukui’s observations as fast as she could. _”Z-Moves are so curious! They almost sound too good to be true. Maybe one day I’ll get to see them in action.”_

\----------------------------------------

The last class of the day finished with Kukui asking questions about the lesson to all of the students. Everyone—except Telford and Chaos, who were doing their own thing throughout the whole class—was able to give correct answers, even Juliette. She had been paying close attention to all the classes, but Kukui’s class has her hooked. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the subject or because of the way the teacher explained things, but she was pretty entertained nonetheless. Oak’s classes were nice in her eyes, too. Juliette couldn’t wait to tell her family all about it and luckily for her, that would be happening in no time. It was already time to leave.

Juliette left the school escorted by Luana, Hau and Kiawe. They insisted on going with her and she couldn’t dare to say no, it was too nice of them. She always left school alone—except on the days her bullies waited for her at the exit—so this was new to her. The quartet was strolling through the courtyard, getting closer to the gate bit by bit.

“I wonder why Lana and Mallow weren’t with us during recess,” Luana pouted. “You should totally meet them, Juliette. They’re super nice!”

“Yes, they’re very good friends of ours,” Kiawe said.

Juliette remained quiet for a bit, not knowing what to say. “They did seem nice during class,” she replied.

Suddenly Hau stopped cold in his tracks. “Hold on, what are those two doing?”

Telford and Chaos were cornering Sophocles, not allowing him to go anywhere. It was hard to hear what they were saying but going by Sophocles’ expression, it was nothing nice. He tried to walk away from them, but the two pushed him back periodically.

Juliette’s heart sank at the sight. She had been in Sophocles’ shoes so many times before and just like him, she didn’t know what to do to fend off those awful people. She hated how no one would ever do anything to help her or make them stop and without really knowing how, now she was the one watching the bashing happen without knowing how to make it stop. Her companions—and anyone else in the courtyard, for that matter—didn’t intervene either and although their faces made it clear that they disapproved what was happening, their passivity ticked Juliette off.

“Isn’t anyone going to do anything about it?” Juliette snapped inadvertently. She then covered her mouth and lowered her gaze.

“Poor Sophocles doesn’t deserve that,” Luana sighed. “Those two are always picking on others. If it wasn’t for them, this school would be the perfect place to be.”

“Unfortunately there’s rotten apples everywhere,” Kiawe added.

As they were speaking, Chaos put his leg in front of Sophocles while Telford, who was right behind the latter, pushed the boy without warning, making him fall flat on his face. The duo started laughing noisily, a laugh that drilled the ears of those who were listening. Especially Juliette, whose feelings of guilt were growing with each passing second. She pursed her lips together afraid to say something that could get her in trouble, although at the same time she wanted to defend her classmate. She hated the contradiction heavily.

Chaos was the one who cackled the most vocally. He was now grabbing Sophocles by the collar of his shirt, screaming into his face, “ _Why won’t you do anything? Is the fat blocking your neurons?_ ”

“Hmph, be careful with what you say.” A new voice that appeared out of the blue spoke. “Didn’t you know the brain is made out of a sixty percent of fat? That means we all have our brains obstructed by fat. Now leave the kid alone.”

To Juliette’s surprise, Luana began squealing happily as she ran towards the newcomer, who looked no better than Telford and Chaos. His pale skin contrasted against his mostly black attire. His clothes had a few tears here and there, namely on the chest and his long black sleeves. _”W-why is Luana so happy to see him? He looks like someone who wouldn’t hesitate to get in a fight. Actually the question here is...why did he defend Sophocles? With those looks, I’m sure he is a bully too.”_

“Gladion!” Telford and Chaos chorused, instantly leaving Sophocles alone. “We weren’t doing anything, we were just having a small talk. Right, Soffy?” Chaos feigned a smile, patting Sophocles’ back harshly.

“Whatever.” Gladion walked away from them without making eye contact. He didn’t notice Luana coming towards him with her arms wide open either. “Now, where could my sister be?”

“I’m sure she will be there in no time! She might be talking to Kukui right now.” Luana answered, wrapping her arms around Gladion’s neck. He did not return her hug and instead patted her arms a few times.

As Luana started a conversation with Gladion, Juliette looked over at Sophocles. Telford and Chaos were nowhere to be seen and now he was all alone. She wanted to approach him and ask if he was alright but part of her hesitated. _”What if he gets mad at me for not intervening?”_ Juliette looked around her. Kiawe was immersed in a conversation with Hau. _”I guess it won’t hurt to try, would it?”_

She approached Sophocles with slow, hesitating steps. He was sitting under a small tree near the fence with his hands on either side of his face, elbows resting on his knees. “I’m so bad at this…” Juliette murmured, “Sophocles, are you...okay?”

“I’ll be fine. It doesn’t happen that often,” he said with resignation.

The girl sighed. “But it’s still not right! Aren’t the teachers doing anything about it?”

“No, I never tell them anything. Those two said that if I ever snitched to Oak it would get worse.”

“They threaten him on top of it…” The girl talked to herself again.

“People here in Alola don’t normally get into fights. I guess that’s why nobody intervenes. Plus they could get in trouble,” Sophocles shrugged.

Juliette felt her hands tremble ever so slightly. “Why don’t those two get in trouble then?”

“I have no idea…” 

Their conversation was interrupted by Luana’s voice beckoning them. Lillie was now with them, so Juliette assumed that Luana wanted them to introduce each other. Plus the end of their conversation was for the best; she was getting worked up over it. She hated seeing others go through the same torment as her and on top of that, it was likely that Telford and Chaos would start picking on her too sooner or later. _”I just can’t outrun it. It’s impossible.”_

“Juliette, this is my good friend Gladion,” Luana beamed, guestering her arm towards him before directing it to Lillie, “and this is his sister, Lillie!” 

Juliette tried to contain a surprised exclamation. _”Really? Those two are siblings? They’re like night and day, like sun and moon!”_ She blinked rapidly as if to recover from the unexpected revelation. “Alola! My name is Juliette. Nice to, uh, meet you both!”

“She came from Kalos not too long ago. Today was her first day here!” Luana told Gladion, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I knew you weren’t from here as soon as I saw you. Nice to meet you too.” Gladion reached out his hand confidently for a handshake, but Juliette didn’t trust him.

_”How did he know that only by seeing me? Is it that evident?”_ She reached out her hand like someone being forced to touch fire. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she weakly shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Juliette. I’m _looking_ forward to talk to you more!” Lillie’s voice became higher in pitch for a moment as she clung her bag firmly but gently.

“M-Me too!” Juliette answered. _”I wonder what’s going on with that bag. But I won’t say anything, I don’t want to bother her.”_

A light silence fell upon the group since Juliette didn’t know what else to say. Strange behavior aside, Lillie did seem nice and although Gladion made her uncomfortable, deep down Juliette thought that maybe he wasn’t so bad, considering Luana seemed to be quite attached to him. While they all dwelled in the silence, a car horn could be heard. When Juliette looked up and saw the car, she felt a rush of joy.

She smiled sheepishly at the group and said, “My Dad and Grandma are here! I have to go now.” 

“Alright, see you tomorrow!” Kiawe waved goodbye. The rest of the group said similar goodbyes, making Juliette smile.

_”Its been years since the last time classmates were so friendly to me. I hope this isn’t just a flash in the pan.”_ She returned the gesture, waving back at them before walking towards the gate.

As soon as she made it to the car, Juliette opened the door and sat next to her grandmother. An overwhelming feeling of safety rushed through her as she settled into the seat.

“Well?” Mainard asked with expectation.

Édith’s eyes sparkled in anticipation and she nearly shouted, “Tell us! How did it go? Did you like the new school?” 

“It was...good,” Juliette nodded inadvertently. She decided to omit Telford and Chaos in fear that her father and grandmother would feel discouraged. “The people here have been nice so far and guess what? Luana and Kiawe are in my class!”

“That’s great news!” Mainard exclaimed. “With Kiawe and Luana there I’m sure you will adapt in no time.”

The girl shrugged, eyeing her new school out of the corner of her eye. “Let’s hope so.”


	6. An invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juliette’s first school week in Alola is finally over. She is looking forward to relax at home in her family’s company, doing nothing in particular. However, her plans change when Luana proposes her to spend the weekend over at her house. How hard will it be for Juliette to spend a whole weekend away from home?

_I can’t believe it’s Friday already!_ Juliette told herself with a faint smile as she walked out of the school’s building into the crowded campus. Cheerful chatter from lingering groups of students in the courtyard drowned out any other possible sounds Juliette could possibly pick up. She couldn’t fathom why any student would stick around after the final bell rang, much less on a Friday. However, that wasn’t the only thing that went beyond her comprehension.

Her first week as a student in Alola went smoothly as far as social interactions were concerned, mostly because she still had no trouble with anyone. Kiawe and Luana’s presence in class made things easier for Juliette, considering she was familiar with them already. Despite the small familiarity, she was still iffy to the idea of approaching them by herself. She had much more trouble talking to the rest of her classmates and would only do so if they addressed to her first. _At least it’s a small progress,_ she’d think every time it happened. 

The only ones Juliette couldn’t bring herself to like even a little bit were Telford and Chaos. Every waking moment around the two brought fear into her, thinking that they would start picking on her at any given time. Sometimes these thoughts would distract her in class because she can’t stop thinking about everything that could possibly happen to her if she rubbed them the wrong way. In a matter of days, Juliette noticed that Chaos was the most dangerous one out of the two. He had a very short fuse, just as he presented on Juliette’s very first day. They were the only thing that kept her from being able to say—for the first time ever—that she wasn’t afraid of going to school.

As Juliette made her way towards the exit, she couldn’t help but notice that her father’s car was nowhere to be seen. It was normal for him and Édith to arrive a few minutes after the bell rang, but Juliette wished they would be punctual so they could make it home as soon as possible. She had a set plan for the afternoon: relax in her bedroom, listen to music, and possibly doddle whatever comes to mind in her sketchbook. However, for better or for worse, her plans were about to change drastically.

“Hey there, Juliette!” an already familiar voice called for her. It was Luana. She was accompanied by Kiawe.

“Hey,” she greeted back. The girl tried not to sound dismissive as she replied, “How are you?”

“I’m fine! How about you?” Luana’s signature smile brightened up her face as she spoke.

“I’m doing well, I guess. I’m just happy it’s Friday already…” Juliette muttered the second half of the sentence, making sure both Kiawe and Luana didn’t hear her.

“What are your plans for the weekend?” Kiawe joined the conversation. His question was aimed at Juliette, who didn’t know what to answer with.

“Plans? Uh, I don’t really have anything in mind, no.” Juliette smiled sheepishly. She hated to admit it, but she almost never had anything noteworthy to do. Staying in her bedroom for most of the day didn’t sound like something worth mentioning to her.

Luana shook her head and grinned confidently before saying, “How about we change that?”

“What do you mean?” The other girl tilted her head ever so slightly to the left.

“Well—, I was wondering if you could come over to my house! I’ve been thinking about it throughout the week and every time it crossed my mind I get so excited! You could even spend the weekend with me!” Luana’s smile grew even larger, scaring Juliette for a moment.

“Wait what? Are you really inviting me over to your house?”

“Of course! I could show you Hau’oli City as well while we’re at it. What do you think?” Luana shot a Rockruff eyed look at Juliette.

She was at a loss for words. “You see, I-I’d have to ask my father and grandmother first. They should be here already…” Juliette turned around in hopes to see the family car, but it still was missing in action.

“I don’t think they’ll quibble about it. They’re pretty cool!” Luana exclaimed.

 _That’s something I can’t deny!_ Juliette chuckled to herself.

“Besides, I could always talk to them,” Kiawe said, “However, I can’t stay the night. I might visit tomorrow if I get the chance.”

This time Luana addressed Kiawe. “Don’t worry, Kiawe! You know you’re always welcome.”

A few minutes went by and the conversation grew more trivial. It helped Juliette relax. However, just as she was starting to feel at ease, the familiar sound of a car horn startled her. Juliette turned around and as she suspected, the noise came from her father’s car. _About time!_ She told Luana and Kiawe to wait a minute and approached the vehicle as fast as lightning, sporting a relieved smile.

“Sorry for the delay! The road was a bit busy. You can clearly tell it’s Friday,” Mainard apologized.

“I lost count how many cars had surfboards on their luggage-racks on the way here,” Édith said. “Well, are you excited for the weekend, Julie?” The woman reached for the car’s door in order to let her granddaughter in, but Juliette stopped her.

“I have to say something first,” Juliette began, scratching the back of her head. “Luana just invited me to her house to spend the weekend and I was wondering if you and Dad would be alright with that.”

Silence enveloped the family. Mainard and Édith’s eyes were wide open and their faces were locked in an unreadable expression for a few seconds until the former finally broke the silence.

“Did you just say that one of your new friends invited you to spend the weekend over at her house? That’s...fantastic!”

“Of course we’re alright with that! That’s great news, Juliette.” For a moment, it almost looked like Édith would burst into tears of joy.

 _They’re more excited about it than I am. It’s so endearing._ The teen looked at them affectionately before speaking again, “Kiawe will be there with us for a bit, but he won’t be able to stay over for long.”

“Understandable. He must be busy with his farm duties, after all.” Édith craned her neck, realizing that her granddaughter’s classmates were standing just a few meters away. “Why don’t you invite them to carpool with us? You’ll have to pack up a few things, right?”

Juliette nodded and turned around to motion for Luana and Kiawe to come their way, but she changed her mind at the last second. “Wait, what would Mom say about it? I won’t be there when she comes home. Shouldn’t I ask her too?”

Mainard answered, “Don’t worry Juliette, your Grandma and I will tell her. I’m sure she’ll be happy about it too.”

“Alright then...” With a sigh of relief, Juliette waved at the duo. They soon made their way to the car.

Édith opened the door next to her and left the vehicle. “I’ll sit in the copilot’s seat so you can be with your friends in the back!”

“Thanks, I guess...” Juliette muttered the last half of her sentence.

Juliette sat in the middle seat while Luana sat to her left and Kiawe to her right. There she was; sitting in between the two individuals that her father and grandmother already celebrated as her friends. Unlike them, Juliette thought it was too soon to call them that. She was afraid of things turning ugly like the many times in the past when people would pretend to be her friend for a little while, only for them to reveal their true colors in the end.

In spite of that, Luana and Kiawe didn’t give those vibes and she wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. To her, they seemed genuinely nice. _I don’t think Luana would invite me to spend the weekend with her as a joke... At least I don’t think she’d do that._

\----------------------------------------

Packing up her belongings didn’t take long for Juliette. She only grabbed the basics for a two day stay away from home. However, she did pack her sketchbook in case she managed to get enough alone time to sketch something. Although with Luana being her host, gaining time to herself will be very complicated.

The group had just arrived to Heahea City’s ferry terminal. During the car ride on the way there, Luana informed Juliette that they will be taking Lillie’s boat to reach Melemele Island. _I definitely wasn’t wrong. Lillie sure is rich,_ Juliette told herself after hearing that bit of information. Not only she was being invited to spend the weekend in someone else’s house, now she was about to ride on a classmate’s private ship. _I can’t think of a more extraordinary way to spend this Friday._

“Just call us if you need anything. But above all, have fun with your friends!” Édith spoke to Juliette excitedly after she, Kiawe, and Luana left the car.

“What your grandmother said. Don’t worry about anything and have a good time!” Mainard looked at his daughter with fondness. This will be the first time Juliette spent more than a few hours away from home and that made it a big event.

“Alright,” Juliette answered, “Please tell Mom to call me or send me a message when she gets home…and take care while I’m out.”

“Oh Juliette, what did I just say? You don’t need to worry! Just enjoy the weekend ahead of you, _d’accord?”_

“ _D’accord..._ ”

“Oh how I miss sleepovers!” Édith beamed. “When I was your age I participated in them all the time…”

“Grandma…!” Her granddaughter contained a nervous laugh. “We must go now. I’ll send a message as soon as we are at Luana’s.”

“Okay. Be careful in the boat, you all!” Mainard waved goodbye as he spoke. Édith copied the gesture, albeit in a significantly more frantic way.

“We will! Thank you for allowing me to invite Juliette over,” Luana thanked the two adults. “I promise she will be cared for.” Luana bowed her head in respect.

“Oh, what a courteous girl! We’re sure she will. Now go!” Édith encouraged the three teens with a smile.

“Goodbye!” The trio waved goodbye at Mainard and Édith as they approached the terminal’s door.

Édith and Mainard watched as Juliette and her group crossed the automatic doors that led them into the building. Now there was no turning back, for better or for worse.

“Do you think she will be alright?” Mainard clutched the steering wheel rather tightly, eyeing his mother from the corner of his eye.

“Son, I understand how you feel. It’s her first sleepover, after all. But I can tell Luana is a good person. She won’t hurt her.” Édith peered at the ferry terminal with a slight smile and then looked back at her son. “How about we go home and prepare ourselves some crêpes?” Mainard stared onward with a saddened, blank look on his face, as if he was in deep thought. After a few moments and a sigh, he slightly smiled.

“That sounds like a plan. Let’s go!” Having said this, Mainard started the engine in the blink of an eye. Now the two adults were on their way back home; this time without Juliette.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned was still processing the situation she ended up in. _This is really happening, huh?_ When the trio entered the building, they found Lillie, Gladion and Hau. The former was currently talking to the ticket agent; identifying herself so she can grant them access to where the ships were docked. As for Gladion and Hau, Luana called them during the trip to Paniola Town and informed them that she will be bringing some friends along with her on the trip to Melemele Island and to wait for them.

“Alright, everything's in order! You may pass,” The ticket agent said as he deactivated the barrier for a moment so Lillie and her friends could walk through it.

“Thank you very much,” the blonde girl thanked with a slight bow.

“No problem.” The agent closed the barrier again, waiting for the next passengers.

As soon as the group left the gateway behind, they found themselves outside of the building and in front of a large pier of boats. There were many kinds: humble little sailboats, a couple of very colorful banana boats, a friendship sloop, and a couple of yachts. But the most spectacular boat of them all, without a doubt, was a big ferry located in the farthest part of the dock. A long line of people waited to board it. 

“That’s the biggest boat I‘ve ever seen…” Juliette marveled in a low voice.

“Yes. That ferry transports people and Pokémon between the different islands in this region,” Kiawe explained as he took a few steps forward, getting a better look at the ship.

“Oh you heard me?” Juliette chuckled nervously. “I guess many move in between islands everyday, at least going by how many people are waiting to get in the ferry.” 

“You’re not wrong. Many people go to a different island often either because of their jobs, the Island Challenge, or simply because of leisure.”

“I see…” Juliette smiled sheepishly.

“That’s our boat over there,” Gladion made himself heard out of the blue, pointing at one of the yachts. “Why don’t we just get on it already?”

“Oh Gladion, don’t be so impatient!” Luana scolded him playfully. “Won’t you let Juliette take in the view of the harbor? The weather today is so sweet!”

“It’s okay, I think I’ve seen enough!” Juliette’s nervous chuckle made an appearance again. She actually agreed with Gladion. Why couldn’t they just go to Melemele already?

On the other hand, Juliette admitted to herself that Luana was right. She had never been to a place like this and it was indeed a beautiful view. The girl had before her eyes the bluest sea she had ever seen; it was calm but the breeze raised tiny waves that rocked the smaller boats from time to time. Flocks of Wingull and Pelipper flew across the completely clear sky every now and then. It was like being inside a postcard.

“Let’s get going then,” Lillie said clutching her bag tightly. “If my brother and I don’t get home soon, Hobbes might get worried.”

 _Watch Hobbes be their butler. They were born with silver spoons in their mouths!_

Juliette followed her companions quietly as they all made their way to the yacht that belonged to Lillie and Gladion’s family. She prefered to be the last one to embark; watching how Luana and the others climbed a few steps to access the boat. Now they were all on the deck, which was quite wide. Even after seeing them make it safely, Juliette hesitated a bit because of how the ship rocked from time to time. _What if I try to climb the steps at the wrong time and I fall into the water? I’d be their laughing stock for quite a long time._

Luana leaned on the rail. “Do you need help, Juliette?” 

“Are you okay?” Hau joined.

“Y-yes and no, I don’t need help! I’m okay!” Juliette took a deep breath and stared at the white steps. Partly thanks to the pressure of knowing they all were waiting on her and her wish of being over with that as soon as possible, the girl finally climbed up the stairs...albeit with hesitation.

“Awesome, you’re finally there!” Luana held her hands and shook them excitedly.

“Yeah, great…!” Juliette kept her hands stiff. All she wanted was to be swallowed by the yacht’s floor, especially after hearing the hearty chuckles of other people on the boat.

“Now that all of us are here, I’m going to let the pilot know.” Lillie disappeared into the cabin and reappeared about twenty seconds later. “Alright, everything is ready!”

“Should we hold onto something before the boat starts sailing?” Juliette’s question earned her more amused laughs from her schoolmates. Needless to say, that didn’t settle well for her.

Lillie smiled kindly. “It’s not necessary, but we can go into the cabin if you want to.”

“I don’t want to bother anyone…”

“Come on Juliette, don’t be so hard on yourself,” Kiawe comforted her. “It’s the first time you’ve ridden on a boat before so it’s understandable for you to feel unsure. I was like that the first time I rode one, too.”

“Kiawe is right, don’t worry about it. We’re here to have a good time!” Luana wrapped her arms around Juliette’s shoulders and led her into the cabin. The others followed them shortly after. Just as they entered the cabin, the boat finally departed. _Huh… It’s not as bad as I imagined!_

However, Juliette did hold back an exclamation upon seeing the interior of the boat: The walls were paneled with shiny, white wood that appeared to be expensive; white ceramic tiles of the same color lined the floor, so shiny that it emitted reflections; and white furniture such as loveseats and armchairs were placed in all corners of the cabin. The only color that stood out from the rest was a pink blanket that was folded neatly on one of the couches along a window.

“If you’re wondering why everything is so white,” Gladion started as he approached Juliette from behind, scaring the living daylight out of her, “it’s because this ship was lent to me and my sister by the Aether Foundation.”

“The Aether Foundation?”

“The Aether Foundation is awesome!” Hau chimed in. “They take in injured wild Pokemon and raise them in captivity before they’re fully recovered and can be released. Although sometimes I do wonder why they decided to set up a branch in Alola…”

“Here in Alola, our installations are on a floating island. Maybe we could go there someday if Mother agrees.” After mentioning her mother, Lillie had a sad smile on her face.

“ _Our?_ Are you and Gladion a part of the Foundation?” Juliette asked. Luana popped up next to her without warning, startling Juliette once more.

“You see, Lillie and Gladion are the children of the Aether Foundation’s President! She’s a very friendly woman and despite all the work she has to do, she’s always looking out for her children. Really admirable. Not only that, she is also super pretty!”

“So she finds time to look out for her children despite how time-consuming her job is. Lillie and Gladion are so lucky…” Juliette glanced at Gladion and Lillie, but looked away immediately after catching a glimpse of the former’s expression.

“She’s definitely there with us all the time, yes,” Gladion grumbled bitterly.

“How about I get everyone something to drink?” Lillie was quick to change the subject. “Maybe some lemonade?”

“Sounds good to me! I know whatever you bring will be great,” Hau praised her as he made himself comfortable on one of the couches.

Juliette mimicked Hau and sat down on a seperate couch; the same one with the pink blanket on its back. She specifically chose this couch just so she can avoid making eye contact with anyone. Little did she know, Luana had a different idea in mind. The girl sat down next to Juliette with an eager look in her eyes.

“Say Juliette, this talk about the Aether Foundation made me curious. What does your family do for a living?” 

Juliette scratched the back of her head and sighed. “It’s not something too extraordinary compared to what Lillie and Gladion’s mother does, just saying.”

“Neither is working in a café, but it’s still entertaining!” Luana smiled, shrugging. 

“Alright…” She pondered for a second before speaking rather quickly. “My Grandmother says she’s retired, even though she’s still not old enough. However, she worked at a library when she was young. My Father has been a housekeeper for as long as I can remember. As for my Mother, she is an specialist in internal medicine for Pokémon.”

“Wait, could you go a bit slower?”

“Oh, okay… I said that my Grandmother claims she is retired despite being too young to do so and that she worked at a library when she was young,” Juliette repeated herself, this time at a much slower speed. Her rapid speaking was stemmed from wanting to be finished with explaining as soon as possible.

“What else?” Luana encouraged her to continue.

“My Father has always been a housekeeper and my Mother is an specialist in internal medicine for Pokémon.”

Luana clasped her hands together and grinned widely. “That’s actually really cool! I’m assuming your Grandma was a librarian in Kalos, right? She must have seen lots of interesting books!”

“Trust me, she did. She has always loved to read, but she doesn’t do it as much nowadays.” Juliette sighed.

“That’s normal. Sometimes our interests shift over time.”

Before the conversation pressed any further, the two girls spotted Lillie returning holding a tray with six glasses of lemonade. She approached everyone so they could each grab one glass until only Lillie’s remained. Lillie placed the tray down on a white glass coffee table before sitting herself down next to Hau, after spotting him tapping the seat next to him frantically. Everyone sat around each other on the couches and socialized; all except for Gladion, who preferred staying on the deck and was simply leaning on the railing out on deck; staring out to the sea. Juliette observed him while taking a sip of her lemonade. _And people call me the antisocial one..._

\----------------------------------------

In less than twenty minutes, the yacht ride came to an end. Juliette was convinced that reaching Melemele Island would take longer, given that it was a whole different island, despite belonging to the same region. _It’s not like Melemele Island is on the other side of the world... Besides, that yacht was rather fast!_

The group took their first steps into Hau’oli City after leaving the ferry terminal, which was nearly identical to the one in Heahea City. However, the cities themselves had substantial differences that could be noticed at first sight. 

While Heahea City is mostly focused on tourism with its various hotels and resorts, Hau’oli City appeared to offer even more. The first thing that caught Juliette’s attention was the presence of a police station. She didn’t recall seeing any of them in Akala. Next to it was a very colorful building. A Machamp with a publicitary sign hanging from its neck waved at the people walking along the street. Curious, Juliette was about to ask Luana what it was about, but the latter took the initiative with a different subject. 

“Juliette, did you know Hau’oli City is the biggest city in the Alola region? Think Lumiose City, but not as convoluted,” Luana explained as she gestured towards their surroundings.

Juliette took a quick glance around her. “Yes, I can tell! Imagine how easy it would be for someone to get lost there.”

“If only you knew how often I had to help Lillie find her way around when she first came here!” Hau said. He noticed Lillie giving him a look and was quick to continue. “But it’s not like it bothered me or anything,” he added with a smile. Lillie smiled at him in return.

“It’s true. I get lost easily, so getting around this city was a bit of a trouble for me.” Lillie bowed her head. Her sun hat almost covered her face completely.

“Hey Juliette,” Hau shifted his attention to her, “speaking of getting around, did you get to visit any of the Trial Sites in Akala yet?”

“Trial Sites? They are associated with the Island Challenge, right?”

“Exactly,” Kiawe intervened. “In Akala there’s three Trial Sites. They are located in Brooklet Hill, Wela Volcano Park, and Lush Jungle.”

“The names do sound kind of imposing, to be honest.”

“Juliette, did you know that Kiawe’s grandfather is a Trial Captain?” Luana said loudly as she playfully poked the aforementioned.

Juliette raised an eyebrow and looked at them in silence for a moment. “Are you two trying to fool me?” She sounded more serious than she intended, earning her a confused look from Luana and Kiawe.

“No, why would we do such thing?” Kiawe inquired. “In fact, the day you and your family came for dinner, my Grandfather was absent because he was tending to his duties as a Captain.”

“Oh, I see.” As they walked, Juliette lowered her gaze in shame. “I’m sorry if I sounded like I was doubting you both. It’s just that people told me wild stories and facts in the past to see if I fell for them or not.”

“It’s fine. I see what you mean,” Kiawe reassured her.

Luana put a gentle hand on Juliette’s shoulder. “You don’t need to worry, we would never play that kind of trick on you.”

“However,” Hau chimed in after some time walking–under Gladion’s watchful eye–alongside Lillie, “Lana loves to lie about having seen cool things, but she doesn’t do it with malice.”

“I see…” Juliette nodded at him and then turned her attention back to the city in front of her.

The police station and the flashy building had been left behind a while ago. Now they were walking past various kind of shops. One of them in particular caught Hau’s attention powerfully.

“It’s Hau’oli City’s best Malasada Shop! Can we go in?” He gave both Lillie and Luana a Rockruff-eyed look, but to no avail.

“How about we go there tomorrow for lunch? I think Juliette will love it,” The latter said with a big grin.

“I would love to go but…” Lillie looked over at Gladion. “My brother and I should be heading home now.”

“Aww man! Maybe another time,” Hau said with a slight shrug.

“I guess this is goodbye for now. We’ll see each other another day.” Without further ado, Gladion turned around and began to walk away. Lillie looked at him and then at the group. It looked like she wanted to say something, but she opted for just following her brother.

However, Luana wouldn’t let them leave like that. “Hey Gladion! At least let me say goodbye to you two properly.” She approached the siblings and gave a hug and a kiss on each cheek to the two of them. Then Luana went back to the group, “See you soon!”

The four of them watched Gladion and Lillie go, waving goodbye at them as the duo returned the gesture. When the siblings were far away from them, the bunch resumed their walk towards Luana’s house. Juliette observed how they were approaching a neighbourhood with expensive looking houses and cocked an eyebrow, wondering if Luana lived in one of these houses or not. _Wait, is Luana rich too? This can’t be Gladion and Lillie’s neighbourhood. They left in the opposite direction. Whatever, I just want to sit somewhere and hopefully be able to let my guard down..._

Luana was now engaged in a lively conversation with both Hau and Kiawe about Mantine Surf. Juliette limited herself to listen, her head hanging low and walking a few steps behind them. _They’re having so much fun. I wish I could join their conversation, but what am I going to contribute? I have no idea how Mantine Surf works and I might just end up making myself look stupid. Why do I have to be so boring? They probably wouldn’t care about the one thing I could spend the whole day talking about. Why can’t I—_

“Here we are!” Luana’s enthusiastic voice made Juliette snap out of her thoughts. As she had imagined, Luana’s house looked like it escaped from a magazine.

The first thing that caught Juliette’s attention was the light blue color of the panelling. If it wasn’t because of the dark brown roof and the trees that seemed to peek from behind the construction, it could very well camouflage with the color of the sky. The house was surrounded by a white and light blue banister with short iron spindles on the top. It was clear that whoever was in charge of designing the house had excellent taste.

“Lua, I’m sorry to spoil the moment but I have to leave now. My Tutu is waiting for me,” Hau said with an apologetic smile.

“Aww really? I hoped you could maybe stay with us for dinner,” Luana pouted.

“Don’t worry, maybe I can come by later!”

“Good! Please do not hesitate to come over. If you can, of course.” Luana hugged her friend briefly yet tightly. “See you!”

“Bye Lua! Bye guys!” Hau said before departing from the group. Now it was just Juliette, Luana, and Kiawe.

“By the way Luana, I don’t think I will be staying for long either,” the latter announced. “Although I’d love to.”

“Don’t sweat it! Do what you need to.” Luana put her arm around Kiawe’s shoulders and then looked back at Juliette. “Let’s go inside!”

As they approached the house further, Juliette caught sight of a well-cared for porch. _Why can’t the new house have one of these? Almost everyone else in Paniola Town has a porch._ A cozy-looking light blue and white loveseat swing-set contrasted with the dark wood paneling of the floor. 

Luana opened the door to her house. The living room and dining room could be spotted right away. “Mom, Dad, I’m home!” The trio led by Luana entered the house, which was silent. The girl gently closed the main door. “Maybe they aren’t home right now…” Luana then turned her attention to Juliette sporting an hospitable smile. “Would you like a tour of the house, Juliette?” 

Juliette was busy typing up a message for her grandmother like she said she would do, but she still made sure to answer to Luana’s proposal. “Uh...I mean, sure. Go ahead!” 

“Perfect! Let’s start with the living room.”

Again, Juliette was impressed by what she was seeing, especially because of the plasma screen TV, which sat above the entertainment center in the living room. But the plant pots themed after the Bulbasaur line that sat on either side of the entertainment center managed to briefly put a smile on her face. She even felt like letting Poppy out to see her reaction to them. Of course, she wanted to do the same with Halbert. _But would Luana agree to that?_

“Luana, can I release my Pokémon here?” she asked, not looking into the girl’s eyes.

“But of course! Besides, I think they’ll love hanging out in the backyard. We’ll go there later.”

“Thank you!” Juliette quickly retrieved Halbert and Poppy’s Pokéballs from her bag. “You see, I spotted those plant pots next to the entertainment center and I thought that Poppy might like them.”

“Because the patterns are based on the Bulbasaur line? That’s cute! I’m sure she’ll love them.” Luana smiled.

As soon as Juliette released her Pokémon, Halbert and Poppy examined their surroundings with wide open eyes. The former silently walked around the living room area, careful not to alter anything. As for Poppy, like Juliette imagined, her attention was immediately drawn to the plant pots. The Bulbasaur squealed in glee upon recognizing the patterns on the vases. Juliette smiled at the sight and approached Poppy to pet her head.

“Your Bulbasaur is beyond ecstatic!” Kiawe said with a chuckle.

Luana clasped her hands over her chest. “Aww, look at her! What a happy girl.” 

“Maybe she is just happy to see her kind receive some love,” Juliette murmured, now looking at the plant pots closely. The silhouettes of Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur were graciously represented on top of a light green background. After that, Juliette’s relaxed mood was suddenly broken by her own thoughts, _What if Poppy accidentally breaks something? Luana would be so angry at me… Maybe Halbert and Poppy should go to the backyard. Although Halbert is being pretty careful..._

“Is everything alright?” Luana asked, noticing Juliette’s thoughtful stance.

“I was just thinking…maybe it would be for the best if Halbert and Poppy went outside just in case they break something on accident.”

“I see. I’ll open the door to the backyard.” Luana walked over to a door on the side of the living area and opened it. Juliette caught a glimpse of lush vegetation in the backyard from were she was standing.

“Halbert, Poppy, go out there.” She gestured towards the door Luana opened. Halbert swiftly hopped towards the door, but Poppy hesitated a bit. That was only until she heard several Pokémon cries. Then she reached for the door almost as fast as her friend did. “Are there any large Pokémon out there?” Juliette furrowed her brows as Luana closed the door.

“There’s quite a few out there, yes. But don’t worry, they would never hurt anyone. Halbert and Poppy are safe.” She smiled reassuringly. “Now, how about we continue with the tour?”

\----------------------------------------

The tour around the house left Juliette even more impressed; each and every one of the rooms in Luana’s house were exquisitely decorated. Some of the rooms, like the kitchen, had elements inspired by Kalos that stimulated Juliette’s nostalgic side. She wasn’t ashamed to admit to herself that she felt nostalgia over a region she left only thirteen days ago. However, besides those melancholic feelings, something else occupied Juliette’s mind while Luana—along with Kiawe—showed her what her house was like. In those thirteen days, two of her classmates had already invited her to their respective houses, even if one of them did so before she knew they went to the same school. _While this is normal for nearly every other person my age, it feels so unusual to me. I wonder if I will come here more often in the future..._

Now the three of them were in the living room again. “Without further ado, it’s time to show you the backyard!” Luana opened the backyard door. She waited until Juliette and Kiawe went outside before doing the same herself and closing the door behind her.

One of the first things that stood out in the backyard were the lush trees that surrounded it and the shed near the back of the yard, where several Pokémon rested in the shade. When Juliette looked in the direction of said shed, she soon noticed Halbert and Poppy happily running towards her.

“Looks like they missed me!” Juliette was unable to contain her smile as she hugged both of her Pokémon.

“Your Pokémon are very loyal to you, I see. That’s so cute!” A voice unknown to her resonated.

Luana quickly turned towards the owner of the voice. “Mama!”

A tall and slender woman accompanied by a Greninja stood closer to the house. Her black hair reached her shoulder blades and slightly puffed outwards. Her hair was also held back by a green and white bandana. Her side swept bangs ended right above her blue eyes, which stood out compared to her pale skin. She wore a long sleeved blouse in the same colors as the bandana, a white skirt, and white sandals. The woman hugged her daughter affectionately. “Say Lulu, did you make a new friend?” she inquired, discreetly glancing at Juliette.

“Yes! Let me introduce her to you.” Luana beckoned for Juliette to approach, which she did so, albeit with a bit of hesitation. “Mama, this is Juliette. She came here with her family from Kalos not too long ago.”

“Kalos, eh? My home region. _Enchantée,_ my name is Alisanne; Luana’s mother.” Alisanne greeted her young compatriot with a kiss on each cheek, a common thing in Kalos that Juliette never got used to.

 _“E-Enchantée!_ It’s nice to meet more people from my home region,” she answered bashfully.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Kiawe intervened, “but if I don’t go now I might be late.”

“You have to go to the supermarket already? It’s fine. Just be careful on the way there, alright?” Alisanne approached him to say goodbye.

“Supermarket?” Juliette asked.

“Yeah. I have a part time job at the supermarket in Royal Avenue.”

As Kiawe spoke, Luana gave him a goodbye hug. “You better come by tomorrow, then.”

“I will, hopefully.” After returning the hug Kiawe approached Juliette. “See you tomorrow.”

 _What am I supposed to do now?_ Juliette pondered which would be the most appropriate way to say goodbye. She didn’t feel a hug would be called for since she didn’t know him as much as Luana did. She knew, however, that if she didn’t act quickly Kiawe would be late to work and it would be her fault. “Yeah… See you tomorrow!” Demurely, Juliette hugged Kiawe like Luana did but in her case, the hug was short-lived. The touch of his bare skin felt awkward to her. _I hope this was right. Dieu, why do I have to be so weird when it comes to physical contact with people?_

Kiawe said goodbye to the three females and left. Alisanne noticed how Halbert was observing her Greninja with great respect. She also happened to notice the scar across his left eye.

“How did your Frogadier get that scar?” Alisanne asked as she crouched next to Halbert.

Juliette lowered her head, recalling how anxious she felt when Halbert got injured. “It was during a battle with a schoolmate’s Garchomp back in Kalos. He didn’t win that battle, but he did evolve and that made me very happy,” she sighed, “but I’m even happier that the wound didn’t affect him badly.”

“Poor thing! Luckily he has a good Trainer by his side.”

Juliette shook her head. “I wouldn’t say I’m a good Trainer. We don’t even battle that much anymore.”

“But Juliette,” Luana intervened, “being a good Trainer is not just centered around battling! It’s also about how you take care of your Pokémon.”

“Luana is right. As long as you take good care of your Pokémon, you can call yourself a good Trainer.”

“By the way Mom,” Luana addressed to her mother, “where’s Dad?”

“Oh! He went shiny hunting. He’ll be back later,” Alisanne answered as she filled a bowl with Pokémon food. A Talonflame landed next to it shortly after and began feeding from it.

“I see.” Luana then directed her attention towards Juliette. “Would you like me to show you my Pokémon? They probably snuck to the front yard.”

“If you are up to it, sure!” Juliette nodded weakly.

“Great!” Luana turned around to face her mother. “Mom, if you need something don’t hesitate to call for me.”

“Don’t worry Lulu, I’ll be fine! Have fun with Juliette. I’m sure she will like to see your Pokémon.” 

“Alright. Let’s get going, Juliette!” Luana held Juliette by the hand without warning. The girl almost lost her balance as she was nearly dragged across the property to the front yard.

To Juliette’s relief, Luana let her hand go shortly after. It didn’t take long for the duo to reach the front yard either. A somewhat large group of Pokémon were there to greet them. However, Juliette only recognized two of them: Luana’s shiny Lycanroc, Pohaku; and the Vaporeon that she frequently brought along to school named Momi. Juliette kept her distance from the group; intimidated by a large, reptilian Pokémon covered in scaly armor.

Luana soon caught on to her fear. “There’s no need to fear this boy!” She approached the Pokémon and scratched his chin. The creature was as happy as a Clamperl. “This is Alemana. He’s a Kommo-o that has been with me for a long time.”

“I see… When did you get him?” Juliette approached Luana and Alemana slowly while Poppy rushed to greet the other Pokémon followed by Halbert.

“It was when I reached the Dragon Trial. I really needed a Pokémon that could take out other Dragon types, but the only one that could do that wasn’t too well.” Juliette nodded, silently encouraging her to continue her story. “I searched for a Pokémon that I could use for the Trial for a while. Thanks to the information from my Pokédex, I caught a wild Hakamo-o—the previous evolutionary stage of Kommo-o. You see, I intended to have him only for the trial but when it was over and I tried to release him, he decided to stay with me instead. I won’t lie; I’m glad he stayed!” Luana said scratching Alemana’s chin once again.

“What happened to that other Pokémon you mentioned?” Juliette asked curiously.

“Come with me.” Luana approached a beautiful white Pokémon that greatly resembled a Ninetales. “This is Kona, my Alolan Ninetales!”

“An Alolan variant, huh? I knew it reminded me of Ninetales!” Juliette looked in awe at the Ninetales, blown away by the immaculate whiteness of its fur.

“Isn’t she pretty? I always wanted an Alolan Vulpix because of how cute they are! I spent a couple of days in a place called Tapu Village looking for one, but I had no luck. Can you guess what happened next?”

Juliette shrugged. “Uh… I don’t know?”

“The day I decided to leave, it started to snow and when I was trying to to reach the next route, _surprise!_ I came across a Vulpix. Sadly she could barely walk since one of her legs was injured from an attack. I picked her up and rushed her to the Pokémon Center in the village. Nurse Joy did a great job and nursed her back to health, but a scar on her back left leg remained. You still can see it.” Luana pointed at one of Kona’s hind legs. “When we left, I asked for her to stay with me so I could protect her from being attacked again. Thankfully, she agreed.” The girl threw her arms around the Alolan Ninetales who nuzzled her face in response.

“She is so beautiful! What about your other Pokémon? How did you get them?” 

“Let’s see… You already know Pohaku, but I never told you how I got Momi. I got her in Paniola Ranch. I went to visit the Daycare and the owner allowed me to pick up an Egg a Trainer never reclaimed. When she hatched into an Eevee, I was on cloud nine! I _love_ Eevee and all of its evolutions!” Luana then approached a different Pokémon. It was tall and avian-like. It wore a short and green hood made of leaves. “This one is Makani; my Decidueye. I got him from Hau’s grandfather when I visited Iki Town.”

Juliette whistled in surprise. “Are you saying that you got a Pokémon from the Kahuna himself? How lucky! I got mine from the Professor in Kalos…”

“Here in Alola it’s a bit different. It’s not rare for the island’s Kahuna to be the one to give new Trainers their first Pokémon. Isn’t that interesting?”

“It is interesting, indeed!” Juliette noticed Halbert having a staring contest with Makani. However, since it looked like there were no hostile intentions, she just left him be.

“After Makani,” Luana continued with the introductions, “I got this girl here. She is an Alolan Raichu. Her name is Nanea! I got her as a Pichu in Route 1 as I made my way to Iki Town for a festival. Of course I caught her because she’s super cute, aren’t you, Nanea?!” Her Alolan Raichu shrilled in response and spun around them as she levitated in the air on her tail.

“A festival?” Juliette asked.

“Yes! It’s a festival held every year to thank the guardian deities from each island for always watching over us. In fact, the next one will be happening in a couple of months. We could go together!” 

_A festival to thank the guardian deities? There’s bound to be a lot of people there,_ Juliette thought. “I’m not a fan of big crowds, but I don’t think going there will do any harm, haha.”

“It’s a beautiful Alolan tradition. I think you will like it!” Luana then glanced at her Pokémon and chuckled. “Look at my Salazzle!”

A thin dark grey Pokémon with markings resembling the suit of a gymnast was trying to get Alemana’s attention by sitting close to him. Sadly, that wasn’t working so far. “Doesn’t it look like that one has a-”

“A crush! Yes,” Luana interrupted Juliette. “That’s Waka. I found her when she was in her previous evolutionary stage. When I was going to the site for the Fire Trial, she was being pursued and attacked by a group of Magmar. Imagine how scared the poor thing was! So I released all of my Pokémon and I fended off her attackers. Then I went on my way but when I finished the Trial, I found the same Salandit waiting for me. She ran to me and latched onto my legs! It was so cute I couldn’t resist catching her!”

“All of the stories of how you got your Pokémon are so interesting,” Juliette said with a hint of jealousy, wishing she would have such fascinating things to tell.

“Some of them are pretty incredible, yes.” Suddenly, something went across Luana’s mind. “Wait! I still need to show you another one!”

Luana left the yard for a moment, but returned shortly after with a large cat Pokémon that looked similar to a Persian. She was holding the creature in her arms.

“Let me guess, an Alolan Persian?” Juliette asked.

“Bingo! This is my pet Pokémon, Anu. I had him since I was seven.”

“How did you get this one?” Juliette looked at the Pokémon, endeared by his chubbiness and the more than apparent fluffiness of his fur.

“I was going to the Pokémon School in Hau’oli City back then. One day when I was going back home from school an Alolan Meowth followed me home. When I was going to enter the house, the Meowth meowed from behind me on the doorstep. It wasn’t until then that I noticed how hungry and skinny he was! Me being young, I let him in and fed him Pokémon food. I fell in love with how cute he was and I asked my parents if I could keep him. They said yes!”

“I wish Pokémon followed me home rather than classmates back when I was in Kalos,” Juliette murmured, looking away from Luana and Anu. She then focused on their conversation again. “He does look well cared for now.”

“Right? You can pet him if you want to; he is very meek,” Luana said as she steadily approached Juliette; encouraging her to pet Anu.

Juliette was always reluctant to interact with Pokémon that were being held by their Trainers, in fear that they would snap at her for no reason. She knew some people disliked having their Pokémon touched by strangers. But this time, it was different. Juliette reached for the Persian’s head and an exclamation of surprise escaped her.

“He is so soft and...fluffy?” She was somehow convinced that if she reacted too enthusiastically, she would come across as creepy. Because of that, instead of enjoying the present moment, Juliette began brooding over unrelated matters. _Everything I do can potentially push people away from me._

“Right? I always bathe him once a week and I make sure to brush his fur at least twice a day. Uh, Juliette?” Luana noticed the other girl looking like she was far away while petting her Alolan Persian. “Is everything alright?”

Juliette was slightly startled by Luana’s voice. “Yes, it is! You brush Anu twice a day, right? I mean, that’s a lot of fur to take care of.” She forced out a laugh and mumbled, “I doubt I’m making any sense.”

“Don’t worry Juliette, you’re right. Taking care of Pokémon with long fur takes more work than, let’s say, taking care of Halbert and Poppy’s skins.” Luana put Anu down on the ground. As soon as he noticed the aforementioned Pokémon, he went to greet them.

“Well, look who it is.” A new voice emerged. Both girls turned around in the direction of the front road.

“It’s you!” Luana ran excitedly past the open gate and hugged the newcomer. 

The individual Luana just greeted was a tall and slender boy around her age. He had tan skin and bright blue eyes. His pink hair was gathered in a small, low ponytail to his left. His clothes—a white shirt, a tan and brown vest on top, white pants, and moccasins that matched the vest’s color scheme—denoted a high social status. He was accompanied by an Eevee and an Smeargle.

Juliette furrowed her brows. _”Who’s the frat boy?”_

“Juliette! Come here!” Luana called for her. As soon as she had her closer, she started talking. “This is my friend Ilima. We went to the same school together when we were kids and we’ve been close friends ever since. Now he serves as a student teacher in the same school!”

“Alola!” Ilima greeted, “Your name is Juliette, correct?”

“Alola. Yes it is.” As always, Juliette didn’t know what else to say afterwards. Despite the fact that she could so easily introduce herself, she could not bring herself to do so. 

Luckily for her, Luana did the honors for her. “She moved here from the Kalos region not too long ago. She also started school earlier this week!”

“Really now? I spent a couple of years in Kalos myself. I studied in Lumiose City. Which part of Kalos are you from?” he asked with a gentle demeanor.

Juliette’s face lit up. Nearly everyone she has come across seemed to have some sort of past with Kalos and she was beginning to wonder if it was just coincidence or something more. “I’m from Anistar City. I was born and raised there.”

“Anistar City is truly wonderful. I went there once with the intention of painting the Sundial. The same painting is now currently hung up in my home. Maybe I could show you someday?”

“A painting of the Anistar Sundial? That must be beautiful!” Juliette smiled brightly. “I must have drawn it myself a couple of times, but I don’t think mine looks that good.”

“You are an artist as well? Looks like we have a couple of things in common.” Ilima’s Eevee squealed happily, underlining his Trainer’s words in a way.

“Wow Juliette, you never told me you like to draw!” Luana’s eyes sparkled. “I’d love to see your drawings someday.”

“I don’t tend to tell many people,” Juliette chuckled; slightly looking away from the duo.

“Oh by the way, Juliette,” Luana put a hand on her shoulder and gestured towards Ilima, “Our friend here is not only a student teacher, but also a Trial Captain! He specializes in Normal types.”

“I-Is that true?” Juliette automatically gave a couple of small steps back, intimidated by learning Ilima’s role.

“Indeed it is. I hold my Trial in Verdant Cavern; located in Route 2. Not many are allowed to access the area.”

“Really? Why is that?” Juliette asked.

“Only participants of the Island Challenge are allowed to access Trial Sites,” Luana explained, “but there’s exceptions, of course.”

Ilima cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to say this, but I just looked at the hour and I need to leave right away. Although I would love to stick around for a bit more.”

“Aww, what’s with everyone having to leave today?” Luana pouted briefly. “It’s alright. We can always meet some other day. Juliette will join us, of course!”

The alluded girl just nodded and smiled. _She could have asked first… Nevermind, Ilima actually looks like a good guy. Hanging out with them both should be nice._

“That sounds like a lovely plan.” Ilima smiled. “I have to get going now. See you!”

“See you!” Juliette and Luana waved goodbye to Ilima and his Pokémon.

When the boy was far from them, Luana turned around to face Juliette. “How about we go inside and hang out in the living room? There’s a good show starting soon.”

“What is the show about?” Juliette asked as they began walking towards the house.

“It’s called Toddlers and Ribbons. It’s about preschool aged children who participate in Pokémon Contests. Although sometimes it’s a bit saddening to watch, with how some of the participants react after losing and all.”

“Aww, poor things. At least they get to do something they like, right?” 

Luana shrugged. “People who dislike the show say they are there to accomplish their parents’ unfulfilled dreams. I think that would be a cruel thing to do, but the children seem to be happy with what they do for the most part.”

Juliette remained silent, not knowing what to add. She knew very well that some people were forced to do things they didn’t want to take part of. Going to school was one of these things for her. Back when they were about to leave Kalos, she assumed Dad and Grandma would homeschool her. After all, her mother finding a job in Alola wasn’t the only reason why they were leaving Kalos behind. But no, they signed her up for a new school as soon as they could. However, if they didn’t sign her up, she probably would have never met any of her classmates. They all seemed to be decent people—excluding Telford and Chaos—and besides that, there was her Grandma’s cryptic promise. _Why am I even complaining then? I should stop._

The two girls returned to the living room. Juliette sat down on one of the loveseats as Luana turned on the TV, sitting right by her side. Anu had followed them both inside the house and lied close to his owner’s feet. The preview for today’s episode of Toddlers and Ribbons was starting; it opened with a little girl getting frustrated over her Furfrou refusing to get his hair trimmed to resemble the girl’s dress. _”Will Katrina and her Furfrou get over this setback?”_ the show’s narrator asked the audience in a rather melodramatic tone.

“Tell me Juliette,” Luana spoke, “I’m curious. Did you ever challenge a Gym Leader when you lived in Kalos?”

“No, I never did. I’ve never been interested in that, honestly.”

“Really? I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t interested in collecting badges! Even people I’ve spoken to on the islands want to try it someday!” Luana exclaimed with her eyebrows raised.

Juliette shifted in her seat ever so slightly. “I guess I’m some sort of oddity.”

“No, it’s alright. It’s not like beating Gym Leaders is the only thing to do out there.” Luana paused for a moment; taking a look at the events on the screen. “Since you only have two Pokémon, have you thought about catching more here in Alola?”

“Catching more Pokémon?” Juliette never considered the option. She was doing just fine with Halbert and Poppy, but deep down she envied those who had large teams. Luana’s stories of how she met her Pokémon only helped rekindle that feeling. “It would be nice, but if I were to try to catch a new Pokémon, I wouldn’t know where to start looking.”

“You could look anywhere, really. No need to worry about that!” Luana smiled. “One of these days we could even go on a trip so you can catch yourself a new Pokémon. Just the two of us.”

Juliette chuckled. “I’m sure you have better things to do.”

“Don’t say that! I think it’s a great idea! My aunt and uncle wouldn’t mind if I took a day off.”

“If you say so, then it has to be…” 

The Toddlers & Ribbons show was getting interesting. One of the contestants was struggling against being put in time out by her mother. The girl was throwing a hissy fit over her dress being way too frilly and puffy for her taste. In the end, she and her mother came to an agreement thanks to the girl’s Leavanny, who fixed the dress so it was less puffy while keeping the frills.

\----------------------------------------

About an hour and a half went by since the show started. Luana encouraged Juliette to comment with her the different things that happened; from the cute performances to the temper tantrums thrown by both the children and their parents. _I never thought I would enjoy a show of this kind, much less talking about it with someone outside of my immediate circle._

Another episode of the show was starting when someone rang the doorbell. Alisanne—who was still working in the backyard—appeared in the living room shortly after. “I’ll get it!”

When she opened the door, a deep male voice could be heard. “I’m home!”

“Papa!” Luana jumped from the couch and dashed towards the door, hugging a tall and slightly pudgy man with a skin tone similar to Luana’s.

The man’s hair and eyes were dark brown. His hair was slightly side swept to the left and it barely reached his jaw where a five o’clock shadow beard grew. His outfit consisted of a buttoned up black shirt, a gray and blue accented sports coat, rolled up gray pants and gray slip on shoes. A loose belt that held his Pokéballs was around his waist. Meanwhile, a feline Pokémon that was roughly the same height as him stood close by.

“How have you been today Lulu?” he asked with a big smile.

“I’ve been great! Today I brought home a new friend from school.” Luana turned around and motioned for Juliette to approach them. 

She approached with slow steps; this time she wanted to try to be the one to introduce herself. “Alola! My name is Juliette. I started going to Luana’s school just recently. I come from the Kalos region.”

“Alola Juliette! I’m Luana’s father. My name is Kealohi, but you can just call me Mr. Paoa! I’m a shiny hunter. This is one of my partners, Incineroar.” The Pokémon roared as a form of greeting.

“Papa, did you get to catch anything today?” Luana queried with a sparkle in her eyes.

Kealohi shook his head. “I didn’t see any today either. I must be patient. I’m sure a new shiny shall appear before me soon!” 

“I’m sure of it, Papa. Can I go with you next time?”

“Well, you know what they say: two heads are better than one.” Kealohi then addressed his wife, “By the way girls, look who I came across on the way here!” Having said this, Kealohi motioned for his companions to come inside.

Alisanne and Luana gasped when they discovered their identities and proceeded to greet them loudly afterwards. One of them was Hau and the other was a male unknown to Juliette.

The man—corpulent and surely older than anyone else in the room—was chatting with Alisanne. His hair—which was partly gathered up in a ponytail—and mustache were grey. He was wearing an orange and white kimono like jacket over a blue shirt. He wore a white rope belt that held a strangely shaped fan. He also wore white bermuda shorts and slippers. He put a few shopping bags down on the floor.

Hau approached Luana and Juliette with a wide grin. “See? I told you I’d be back for dinner!”

“Yay! The more the merrier!” Luana hugged her friend briefly then faced Juliette. “Juliette, do you want to say hello to Hau’s grandfather?”

“The Kahuna?” Juliette drew closer to her, speaking in a low and tremulous voice. “You want me to talk to the Kahuna?”

A hearty laugh escaped Hau. “You don’t need to worry! He may be a Kahuna, but my Tutu is very nice.”

“Hau is right. Let’s go!” Luana grabbed Juliette by the hand, drawing her in closer to where the man was. He was currently talking to Alisanne and Kealohi.

“Tutu, a new friend of ours wants to introduce herself.”

“I see!” His words boomed across the room, almost making Juliette jump back. “What’s your name, child?”

“My name…?” She looked at Luana, then to Hau, and then back at Luana. She barely dared to make eye contact with the Kahuna, so she awkwardly stared at his mustache instead. “My name is Juliette and I come from the Kalos region.” She forced a smile. _How many more new people will I have to come across today?_

“Oho, Kalos, you say? How interesting! What do you think of Alola so far?”

“What do I think of Alola? So far I think it’s a nice region to live in and...” Again, Juliette looked at Hau and Luana alternatively, struggling to complete her sentence, “...it has nice people, I think.”

“Dahahaha!” Hala left out a rambunctious laugh while slapping his belly. Juliette lowered her head, already convinced that she said something wrong. “You’re right girl, this is a great region and our people are very welcoming. You must have come from Kalos recently, correct?”

“Right.” Juliette nodded.

“Then I sincerely hope you soon feel at home here in Alola!” 

“Thank you!” Juliette smiled, sighing in relief afterwards. _I didn’t mess up in the end. Hoorah!_

“Alisanne,” Kealohi spoke, “can Hau and Hala stay with us for dinner today? Since we came here together I think it would be a good idea.”

The woman smiled brightly. “Sure. They are more than welcome to stay. In fact, I was going to prepare dinner in a little bit.”

“Mom, can I help you prepare dinner? Please!” Luana gave her mother the most irresistible Rockruff eyed look, clasping her hands together and all.

“Sure thing Lulu! I could use a helping hand, we’ll get to have dinner sooner.” Alisanne approached her husband, who was starting a new conversation with Hala, and tapped him on the shoulder. “Lulu and I are going to prepare dinner. It will be ready soon.”

“Alright! We will be waiting in the living room,” Kealohi answered.

Meanwhile, Luana was with Hau and Juliette. “Do you guys want to come with us to the kitchen and watch us cook dinner?”

“It will be fun! You can fill me in what you’ve been up to these past few hours and I can do the same!” Hau grinned widely with his arms behind his head.

“Sounds like a deal! Can’t wait to hear what you have been up to. Right, Juliette?”

The girl barely heard what Hau and Luana said just now. She was too caught up in her own thoughts. _Why are they treating me like family? Is this normal? Why has this never happened before? It’s unbelievable._

“Juliette?” Luana called for her, finally bringing her back to reality.

“We are going to the kitchen now?” Juliette smiled halfheartedly. Although she was scolding herself internally for getting distracted so easily. 

“Yes!” Hau answered. “Let’s see who makes it first!” With that the boy dashed towards the kitchen, running right past Kealohi’s Incineroar. 

“Not fair, you cheater! Wait for me!” Luana began to run right after. Juliette, on her part, wasn’t feeling it and prefered to just walk to the kitchen.

“Juliette, you’re last!” Hau announced as the girl walked through the large white archway that gave access to the kitchen.

“Let her, she must be tired from the boat trip and all.” Luana elbowed him playfully. She then proceeded to set two chairs for them to sit on afterwards.

Alisanne entered the kitchen as well shortly after. She put on a white and grey apron with the silhouette of Lumiose City’s Prism Tower on the bottom right corner. “Alright Lulu, start getting the ingredients, please.” Alisanne then faced Hau and Juliette with a kind smile. “I see we have an audience! I hope watching us cook is not too boring for you kids.”

Hau smiled back at her. “Don’t worry! I’m easy to entertain. By the way, what are we having for dinner?”

“Cajun style Magikarp fillets with buttered brown rice and steamed broccoli!” Alisanne announced with a grin. 

Hau suddenly jumped on his seat, earning himself a befuddled look from Juliette. “That’s sounds delicious! I bet it will taste great. Can’t wait to give it a try!”

Alisanne laughed. “I’m glad you are so enthused about the menu.” 

During that brief period of time, Luana had diligently gathered all the ingredients and placed them all on one of the counters. She had brought out multiple Magikarp filets, a variety of spices like garlic powder and ground paprika, a bag of rice, and various vegetables such as cut broccoli and bell peppers. “Where do we start?”

“We will start with the filets first. The rest we’ll start as we go.” Alisanne was setting up some pots and pans as well as other cookware.

Juliette observed the scene in silence; remembering the day they arrived in Alola. She and her mother were organizing the kitchen; putting everything on its respective places. They even worked together to attach a spice rack to the wall. Moments like those were scarce between them and Juliette couldn’t help but feel jealousy threatening to show its ugly head upon seeing Luana and her mother cooking together. To avoid this, she did the very last thing she thought she would do.

“Hau, tell me. What have you been up to?”

“Nothing much, really!” The boy scratched his cheek. “I’ve been watching my Tutu and his Pokémon train together. I asked him if we could have a battle but he said he prefered to leave that for another day.”

“But battling a Kahuna must be intimidating, even if it’s just a friendly match.”

“You’re right.” Hau’s usual cheery expression suddenly changed to a determined stare. “He may be my Tutu, but we take our battles very seriously. I really want to beat him someday.” He sighed and kept quiet for a moment before resuming the conversation, “Say Juliette, do you have any special goal?”

 _Yes. I’m devoted to seeing a Legendary Pokémon probably doesn’t exist within this region._ Juliette shook her head and shrugged. “No, not really. So far I just want to do well at school, I guess.”

“Hey, that’s a very valid goal! I wish you the best of luck.”

Juliette smiled at the sincerity of Hau’s comment. “Thank you very much, I wish you the same with your goal too.” The two teens observed Luana and Alisanne working on their dinner in silence. Alisanne covered the Magikarp filets with a mixture of spices while Luana heated up a couple of tablespoons of butter in a frying pan. The smell of melted butter began filling the room.

“This scent reminds me,” Hau spoke again, “after training we both got hungry and came here to Hau’oli City to buy something for dinner, but we came across Lua’s dad and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Not knowing what to add to the conversation anymore, Juliette nodded and turned her attention back to the two females in the kitchen. Luana was chopping a bell pepper that she then threw into a skillet, stirring it from time to time. Alisanne was still preparing the filets, covering the last ones in the same mixture of spices. _When I go back home, I might ask Dad or Grandma if we can cook together someday,_ Juliette told herself with a small smile.

\----------------------------------------

“Dinner is ready!” Alisanne said with a raised voice; walking briefly into the living room while drying up her hands with her apron.

“Should we help you bring out the dishes?” Hala—who was sitting on a couch with Kealohi—made a motion to stand up, but Alisanne stopped him.

“Don’t worry, the kids are helping me. However, you two can go sit at the table.” She went back to the kitchen and took her apron off.

Soon Alisanne, Luana, Juliette, and Hau left the kitchen carrying a couple of dishes full of food each. They placed them down on the table carefully and then went back to the kitchen to fetch a loaf of bread, a glass for each one of them and something to drink, namely water and mango juice. “My favorite!” Luana squealed when her mother got the bottle. Before finally going to the dining area, Alisanne and Luana went to the backyard to give all the Pokémon some food as well. Halbert and Poppy were still there, now accompanied by Kealohi’s Pokémon as well as some of Hau’s and Hala’s.

With everything ready, everyone sat down at the table. Like the rest of the house, the dining area was decorated with excellent taste. The light brown wooden table, small and sleek, sat on top of a light blue rug. A Flabebe themed vase with several flowers sat on the middle of the table. Several white and brown wooden chairs were around the table. As Alisanne told them, Kealohi and Hala were already sitting down on opposite sides of the table. Alisanne sat next to her husband and in turn, Luana sat next to her mother. On the other side, Hau sat at his grandfather side and Juliette sat next to the boy.

“ _Bon appetit!_ ” Alisanne exclaimed before taking a spoonful of rice.

“Bon appetit,” Everyone echoed back.

All of them grew quiet for a moment as they savored the first few bites of food. It didn’t take long until the silence was broken. “Luana, Alisanne, your cooking is delicious as always!” Kealohi praised.

“Thank you dear, I’m glad you like it!” His wife made a coy gesture with her hand, placing the other on her cheek. “What does everyone else think?”

“I agree with Dad, I think we did a great job!” Luana answered before continuing to cut off a piece of one of the seasoned Magikarp fillets with a fork and a knife.

Hau, Juliette, and Hala responded more or less in the same way, praising the flavor of the food. “Maybe it turned out great because we were there, Juliette,” the boy joked.

Luana pretended to roll her eyes at the comment. “Yeah, that’s probably why.” Juliette just smiled and shook her head; taking a bite of a broccoli sprout.

“Hala, how are the preparations for this year’s festival coming along?” Kealohi asked in between sips of water.

“They are going nicely so far. I think we will have a very good festival, especially if Tapu Koko is up for it.”

Juliette snickered and almost choked on her food. “ _Tapu Koko? Koko? Why do I find the name funny? Anyway, I hope no one noticed I laughed! Wait, Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele… There must be a connection._ Once free from a small onset of laughter, she decided to ask about it. “Who is Tapu Koko?”

“ _Oho!_ ” Thanks to Hala’s loud exclamation, this time Juliette did choke on her food. Fortunately the mishap was quickly solved by a few gulps of water. “Sorry about that, I tend to get too loud from time to time,” Hala said apologetically. “Anyways, as I was about to explain, Tapu Koko is Melemele’s guardian deity. Each of the four islands that make up Alola has its own guardian Pokémon.”

“That means Tapu Koko is just like Tapu Lele in that regard, right?” Juliette inquired.

“Correct. Alola’s guardian deities are also known as The Four Tapu, since their names start the same way. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll get to see one of them!”

“Personally,” Luana intervened, “I would love to see Tapu Lele someday! She is easily my favorite out of the four.” 

The way Luana’s eyes sparkled upon mentioning Tapu Lele reminded Juliette of herself whenever she talked about Zygarde or someone mentioned him to her. _Unlike myself, she doesn’t get hell for it._

“Considering you have a Z-Ring, there’s no doubt that you’ll see one of them someday.” Hau’s words were aimed at Luana.

“I know, but I don’t think that has anything to do with it.” Luana glanced down at her Z-Ring with a sigh.

“They say impossible is nothing, don’t they? Many people has seen the Tapu in the past, regardless if they owned a Z-Ring or not,” Alisanne encouraged her after swallowing a slice of filet.

“I still remember how I felt when I found my first shiny,” Kealohi said, recalling the distant memory, “I had to rub my eyes several times to believe it!”

“I can’t wait until I find a shiny of my own, too!” Luana exclaimed with enthusiasm. “I believe Pohaku would like having a shiny friend, don’t you think?”

Kealohi nodded. “Absolutely! And I’m sure you will make that come true sooner or later.”

Following the conversation in silence, Juliette kept eating her food and drinking water from time to time. Unlike the day Kiawe’s parents invited her and her family for dinner, her father and grandmother weren’t here to encourage her to start a conversation. Juliette knew they did it for her sake and she wished she could talk more without her irrational fear of sounding ignorant, but it was difficult for her. _At least I asked Hala about Tapu Koko, that must be something, she told herself. This kind of thing always goes one step at a time._

 _\----------------------------------------_

 _Dinner went by in between lively conversations and lots of laughter. Juliette even intervened a few times, especially when Alisanne started talking about her favorite landscapes in Kalos. Hau and Hala also named some of their favorite places in Alola—most of them in Melemele, like Melemele Meadow and the Berry Fields—and suggested Juliette to visit them when she had the chance._

_Speaking of Hau and Hala, the duo left shortly after they were done with dinner. Hala explained he had to wake up early the next day. As for Hau, Luana invited him to come back the next day so they could go to the Malasada Shop for lunch, just as she suggested earlier in the day. Needless to say, he accepted the invite._

_With all the dishes, glasses, and cutlery from dinner clean and in their respective places, everyone was finally ready to go to bed. Juliette had withdrawn Halbert and Poppy into their respective Poké Balls and placed them carefully inside her bag for the night. After Juliette and Luana said goodnight to the girl’s parents, the two went to Luana’s bedroom. She wasn’t all that tired and neither was Juliette, so they agreed to hang out for a bit before officially going to bed. They were still dressed in their casual attire._

_Juliette sat down on an orange bean bag chair situated in the middle of the room while Luana sat on the edge of her bed. Almost everything in the room was either orange or white: white carpet, orange and white walls, and orange and white striped covers complete with a white pillow. A wall décor featuring Rockruff’s silhouette lined the top of the walls. A small nightstand sat right next to her twin sized bed with an Alolan Vulpix themed lamp, a picture portraying Luana with her family and their Pokémon, and an alarm clock. Many Pokémon plushies were stacked on a white bookshelf located on the right side of the bed. Juliette looked at them only able to recognize some of them such as Vulpix, Eevee, and Tapu Lele. A Rockruff plush was on the bed as well._

_“Do you like my plushies?” Luana asked with a smile. The girl got up and walked over to the bookshelf. She grabbed the Tapu Lele plush and handed it to Juliette. “You can hold it if you want.”_

_“Thank you.” Juliette held the plush carefully, taking a closer look at it. She could understand why Luana liked this Pokémon so much. The plush portrayed the creature in an adorable manner. Its big pink and blue eyes seemed to have a curious expression in them._

_Luana, who was again standing next to the bookshelf, retrieved a different plush off of it. “Want to know another one of my favorite Legendary Pokémon? Here.”_

_She handed Juliette a plush depicting a bat like Pokémon whose head shape reminded her of a crescent moon. The doll had a serene expression that made Juliette spellbound for a short span of time. “Who is this?” she asked._

_“That is Lunala,” Luana answered. “She is known as the beast that calls the moon and has been honored as an emissary of the moon from time immemorial...and it’s a really pretty Pokémon to boot!”_

_Juliette kept her gaze on the doll. “An emissary of the moon? I’m sure the legend behind that is really interesting.”_

_“It sure is!” Luana nodded with a smile. “Do you have a favorite Legendary Pokémon?”_

_Tensing all of the sudden, Juliette looked up at Luana. She glanced down at the plushies on her lap, then further down below at her espadrilles. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Juliette looked back at Luana and gave her half a shrug. “No, not really. There’s many interesting Legendary Pokémon out there, but there’s none that stands out to me especially.”_

_“But the pattern on your cap and shoes—”_

_“Oh, that?” Juliette abruptly interrupted the other girl loudly; louder than she intended to in the process. “It’s just coincidence, really. My father gifted them to me when I turned thirteen and he probably didn’t realize the pattern matched, haha.”_

_“I see…” Luana raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced by Juliette’s answer. Since the topic of fashion had been slightly mentioned, Luana became absolutely enthused. “You know, I’m really into fashion! See that closet? It’s _huge_! Want me to show you some of my clothes?”_

_“Sure, be my guest!” Juliette chuckled and then sighed in relief. She was glad that the Legendary Pokémon topic was quickly left behind._

_As Luana walked towards the closet, Juliette gently placed the Tapu Lele and Lunala plushes back in their previous places. She then stood next to Luana as she opened her closet; revealing a plethora of clothes, shoes, and accessories. Everything within was neatly organized which reminded Juliette of a store. _Wow, that’s three times the amount of clothing I own! Why do other girls need so much of it?__

_“Look, this is one of my favorite dresses.” Luana retrieved an orange dress with short sleeves that were adorned by a ruffle. “What do you think of it?”_

_Juliette tilted her head staring at the dress from top to bottom. “It looks nice but it’s not my style. Sorry.”_

_“No need to be sorry! Not everyone has the same fashion style.” Luana hung the dress up and retrieved a different one. This dress was a baby blue one with a small daisy pattern printed all over it. A ruffle served as the dress’ hem. “I bought this one a couple of years ago during a trip to Konikoni City, which is in Akala Island.”_

_“How often do you go shopping?”_

_“Whenever I have the chance. Hey, one of these days we should go together! What do you say?” Luana inched forward with an expectant look in her eyes._

_Juliette gave one step backwards to regain some personal space. “It would be nice to do that someday.”_

_“Yes! Since you live in Akala we could tour _all_ of the shops!”_

_“A tour of...clothing stores?” Juliette mumbled to herself before nodding at Luana with a faint smile. Her furrowed brows, however, gave away how she really felt about the idea._

_The showcase of clothing and other fashion related articles continued for a few more minutes until a particular item in the room caught Juliette’s attention. It was a cork board chock-full of pictures. All of them featured Luana and her friends; namely Lillie, Kiawe, Hau and others._

_Luana approached Juliette from behind in silence. “There’s lots of memories right there.” The other girl shuddered at the sudden words and turned around abruptly._

_“You are lucky to have so many of them,” Juliette lamented with a hint of bitterness. “I never had anyone to take a picture with besides my family.”_

_Luana approached and hugged Juliette without saying a word, much to her surprise. It took a couple of seconds to hug her back, but the gesture brought an immediate feeling of peace to her. It was a gentle and comforting hug; the kind of hug that only her father and grandmother—very rarely her mother—gave her. Despite this, Juliette herself was the one to break the embrace before it lasted way too long._

_“I’m very sorry to hear that, Juliette.” Luana’s eyes glistened. “I had no idea. You don’t have anyone back in Kalos?”_

_“You don’t need to feel sorry, it’s okay. As for your question, I don’t think I can give a satisfying answer. I guess it’s yes, but it’s also no. It’s hard to explain.”_

_“I see. Let me guess...a long distance relationship perhaps?” Luana smirked; going back to her usual cheery disposition._

_A slight blush crept on Juliette’s cheeks. “Of course not! What are you getting at? All the boys in my school were so immature.”_

_“I’m just kidding!” Luana laughed before giving Juliette a friendly pat on her shoulder._

_A light silence fell upon the room. It wasn’t awkward in the slightest; it was like a natural silence following the end of a conversation. However, it wasn’t long until a new one was started. “Luana, how did you meet Kiawe and the others?”_

_“I met them in all sorts of places. For an example, I met some of them—Hau, Ilima, Gladion, and Lillie—while I was attending the Trainer’s School here in Hau’oli City. Then I met the rest of them during my Trials Run, such as Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles. Then I met Kiawe during my first visit to Aunt Nohea and Uncle Makoa’s home in Paniola Town. I can easily say Kiawe and Hau are my childhood friends. However, something strange happened near the time I graduated...”_

_“What was it?” Juliette asked as she took a seat in the bean bag._

_“Hau and I thought Gladion and Lillie would join us, but shortly before starting our Run, they became distant until one day the both of them disappeared.” Luana recalled with a sad look in her eyes. “I was looking forward to see them do the Island Challenge too after all the effort they put into class, but sadly that never happened.”_

_“But now they’re going to school again in Akala Island. What happened?”_

_“Shortly after Hau and I were done with the Challenge, we saw Gladion and Lillie again.” Luana sighed, shifting her body to her left. “They were doing better and weren’t as distant as they were the last time we talked to them. It was such a big relief!”_

_“So even after all that time without seeing them, they remained your friends? You’re lucky.” Juliette leaned forward as she spoke._

_“All of us are lucky they even came back…” The girl murmured, looking at the floor for a moment before looking at Juliette with the brightest smile. “Being close to your group of friends is the best thing ever, don’t you think?”_

_“I never had such thing, but I guess it is.”_

_“But Juliette,” Luana crouched in front of her, “now that you are in a new region, you will meet tons of different people and make friends. You seem really nice and I hope we talk more from now on.”_

_Juliette’s eyes lit up. “You really mean that?”_

_“Of course I do! Don’t you see how many plans we made today?” Luana giggled. “Besides, I love making new friends. I’m sure the others feel the same.”_

_“Eh, I wouldn’t put words in their mouth,” Juliette mumbled, “but hearing you say that makes me very happy. I’m not used to hear that from others.” As soon as she finished her sentence Juliette yawned and politely covered her mouth._

_“You are exhausted, aren’t you? Do you want to go to bed?”_

_“Yeah, I think it would be the best.” Juliette yawned again. “Is the guest room close by?”_

_“Yes it is. You only have to go across the hallway and you’ll see the room. It’s next to the large windows on the left side.” Both girls got up and Luana accompanied her guest to the door. “Goodnight, Juliette! I hope you rest well, because when Hau goes to a Malasada Shop it’s hard to keep up with him!”_

_Juliette smiled at the comment. “That’ll be a trip. Goodnight!” The girl walked away from the door as Luana closed it slowly._

_Following Luana’s directions, Juliette made it to the guest room in the blink of an eye. The guest bedroom was rather simple. The carpet and walls were beige just like those in the loft. Two full sized beds sat on either side of the room up against the corner walls. Each of them had beige bedspreads and metal bed frames. There was a dark brown dresser along the left wall as well as a walk in closet in the entryway wall, located in the leftmost side. What caught Juliette’s attention the most, however, was a particular painting that hung above the nightstand in between the two beds. It depicted a scene of Lumiose City at night with its famous Prism Tower lit up in the distance. The teen found herself running her fingertips along the glass that covered the image, hypnotized by it until a loud yawn reminded her what she came to do in the room._

_She put on her black nightgown with hot pink polka dots and folded her clothes to place them into her bag. Before getting into bed she checked her phone in hopes of seeing a goodnight message from her mother, but there was none. _Maybe she’s still at the Pokémon Center. She must be having a very busy day.__

_After turning off the room’s lights, Juliette finally got into bed and turned off the lamp on top of the nightstand. She checked her messages one last time and placed the phone next to her under the lamp. The sight of the floral themed ceiling fan above her distracted the girl as she tried to figure out which flowers were depicted. She could tell there were a couple of tulips by their characteristic cup shape and bright colors. There were a few lilies of various colors as well._

_Despite the small distraction, Juliette still could not fathom the fact that she was in a bed other than her own. Her new room felt a lot more familiar than this, despite only being there for only two weeks so far. _Enough of staring at the ceiling. I need to get to sleep soon or tomorrow I will look and act like a zombie!_ Doing her best to clear her mind, Juliette closed her eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to relax and fall asleep. She didn’t know yet, but a very wild day awaited her the following morning._


End file.
